Feeding Hummingbirds
The Dangers of Red Dye

by Sheri Williamson, author of
A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America (Peterson Field Guide Series, January 2002)
and Attracting and Feeding Hummingbirds (T.F.H. Publications, March 2000)

See also: "Perch Hypothermia": Is It A Threat? and Yellow Feeder Parts and Bees

When I started feeding hummingbirds more than 25 years ago, almost everybody I knew filled their feeders with a solution of four parts water to one part sugar colored with a drop or two of red food dye. Something about the idea of coloring feeder solutions troubled me from the start, so I eventually stopped adding dye to my feeder solution. The birds came anyway, so I never used dye in hummingbird feeders again.

I later learned that a colorless solution of ordinary white table sugar in water is remarkably close in chemical composition to the nectar of hummingbird flowers. These nectars are basically solutions of sugars and water, with small amounts of electrolyte salts plus traces of other compounds, most of which are little more than contaminants left over from the conversion of sap (phloem) to nectar. White table sugar is 99.9% sucrose, a naturally occurring sugar abundant both in the sap of plants and in the nectars of hummingbird-pollinated flowers, and tap or drinking water (but not distilled or reverse-osmosis water) provides trace amounts of electrolytes. Natural nectar is colorless, so adding dye is at best unnecessary and unnatural.

I didn't really become aware of the issue of commercial "instant nectar" products until 1988, when my husband and I moved to Arizona to manage The Nature Conservancy's Ramsey Canyon Preserve, a world-famous location for hummingbirds. Among the preserve's attractions were its feeding station, where a colorless 4:1 feeder solution attracted 14 hummingbird species, and its bookstore/gift shop, which sold a wide variety of hummingbirds feeders. The staff and volunteers often had to explain to visitors that there was no color in the preserve's feeder solution because dye is unnatural, unnecessary, and potentially hazardous, and that we didn't sell "instant nectar" products in the store because these products are overpriced, overpackaged sugar adulterated with unnatural, unnecessary, and potentially hazardous chemicals such as dyes.

It turns out that the red food dyes used in some feeder solutions may be much more dangerous than we previously suspected. Studies in Japan (Tsuda et. al 2001) found that relatively low doses of Red #40, the world's most popular food coloring, caused pre-cancerous DNA damage in the colons of mice. Crunching some numbers revealed that the concentration of dye that produced these changes was significantly lower than that present in a hummingbird's daily ration of bright red "instant nectar"! Other red dyes (especially Red #3, a.k.a. erythrosine) also showed alarming effects in laboratory tests. For a thorough analysis of the situation, including references to several pertinent studies, see Stacy Jon Peterson's FAQ page, "Should I Add Red Dye to My Hummingbird Food?"

Manufacturers of "instant nectar" products have been outrageously reluctant to respond to the concerns of hummingbird enthusiasts. Perky Pet's approaches to the issue have ranged from offering dye-free and "light" versions of their "instant nectar" to defending it with unfounded claims that the unnamed dye (Red #40, according to company representatives) is "USDA approved" and "non-toxic and harmless to hummingbirds." It's actually the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), not the U.S. Department of Agriculture, that approves food additives, and no research has ever been done to determine the safety of any food additive, including Red #40, for hummingbirds or any other wild bird.

The more responsible approach would be to replace artificial red dyes with natural colorants, and, after a couple of decades of complaints from hummingbird experts and concerned enthusiasts, Perky Pet took a tentative step in this direction by introducing a liquid concentrate colored with plant and insect extracts. Unfortunately, hopes of a change in philosophy at the company appear to be unfounded. In May of 2005, I had the following e-mail exchange with representatives of Perky Pet:

From: Customer Service <customerservice@outdoorseasons.com>

Hello,
We are currently in the process of adding the newer items to the site.
If you'd like to call us, we do take phone orders. Please let me know if
I may be of any further assistance.
Julie McKinney
Outdoor Seasons
Perky Pet Products
1-800-854-8111 ext. 140

From: Customer Service <customerservice@outdoorseasons.com>

Hello
 Im sorry but we have no plans to phase out our original nectar.
                                                      Jeanine

Regrettably, there was no further response from Perky Pet. This isn't surprising, given the misleading claims on its packaging and previous responses to consumers and hummingbirds experts (see Lanny Chambers's red dye page for the complete text of a letter he received from PP). It's just as well that I don't like PP's feeders, because I'm reluctant to buy anything from a company whose response to legitimate concerns is denial and disinformation. I much prefer to patronize companies such as Aspects, Inc. that make quality products and don't feel compelled to pad their bottom line by selling overpriced boxes of sugar laced with carcinogens.

The bottom line is that "instant nectar" products containing artificial coloring are at best a waste of your hard-earned money and at worst a source of disease, suffering, and premature death in hummingbirds. If you simply can't live without color in your hummingbird feeder solution, please color ordinary sugar water with a naturally-colored fruit juice concentrate.

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Feeding Hummingbirds: "Perch Hypothermia"
Yellow Feeder Parts and Bees