Rainbow Palate

Carolyn Cobbold is a research fellow at Cambridge University, where she investigates the history of food and science. Her work has been published in Annals of Science, Osiris, Ambix, and Business Insurance, among others.

• PrefaceIntroduction1 Food adulteration and the rise of the food chemist2 The wonder of coal tar dyes3 From dye manufacturer to food manufacturer4 The struggle to devise tests to detect dyes and assess their toxicity5 The appointment of public food analysts in Britain6 How British food chemists responded to the use of coal tar dyes7 French and German chemists seek to arbitrate the use of synthetic chemicals in food8 The US government acts against chemical dyes in foodConclusionAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

"Elegant and insightful. . . . What is stunning is how pertinent the book is to our own times. You will find here a rehearsal for everything we are facing today—the fads, the fears, the government interventions that are either too late or too rushed, and the nagging sense that the food that most delights the eye may not always be the food that serves us best."