Why is Pepto Bismol Pink?
I’m not a fan of consuming things that have an unnatural color and the pink stomach relief drug known as Pepto Bismo certainly falls into the category of “unnatural color.” I mean, look at how pink it is… that can’t be normal right?
As it turns out, the original Pepto Bismol was pink because of its ingredients, bismuth subsalicylate. But it soon became a branding issue, “Pepto Pink,” and Pepto now has a lot of colorants that give it that uniform pink color. Bismuth subsalicylate by itself has only a slight pink color.
If you look at the list of ingredients, you’ll see certain color additives (this is for 1 mL):
- Active Ingredient: bismuth subsalicylate 17.6 mg
- Nonmedicinal ingredients: benzoic acid, D&C Red No. 22, D&C Red No. 28, flavour, magnesium aluminum silicate, methylcellulose, sodium saccharin, salicylic acid, sodium salicylate, sorbic acid and water.
D&C Red No. 22 and D&C Red No. 28 give it that pink color.
(photo: nauright)
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