Is it safe to eat dyed Easter eggs?

Easter egg dyes come in a rainbow of vibrant hues, including ruby reds, sky blues and emerald greens.

For just a couple of dollars, Americans can purchase a kit that allows them to dye up to two dozen eggs, which can be eaten or hidden around the backyard for an Easter egg hunt.

But is eating dyed eggs safe?

Experts say it is, assuming the eggs are eaten within two hours of being taken out of the refrigerator and the dyes are approved for use with food by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“If you buy an Easter egg dye kit at the store that’s made with food-safe dyes, yes, you can eat those eggs, as long as you eat them within an hour or two of them being dyed,” Dr. Kelly Johnson-Arbor, the medical director of hyperbaric medicine at Maryland’s MedStar Health, told WBAL this week.

After two hours sitting at room temperature, or around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, any bacteria in or on the eggs can quickly multiple, including Salmonella.

Salmonella is a common cause of food poisoning in the U.S., with 1.35 million cases annually, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. About 1 in every 20,000 eggs is contaminated with Salmonella, according to researchers. And there’s no way to know if an egg is contaminated until it’s too late.

More than 130 people fell ill after eating eggs that had Salmonella contamination last year. The 10-state outbreak resulted in one death and 38 hospitalizations, according to the FDA.

People who are infected with the bacteria experience fever, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps between 12 hours and three days after they eat the contaminated food.

In rare cases, infections can spread to the intestines and into the blood stream, causing death unless a person is treated with antibiotics, the FDA says.

Pregnant women, people with weakened immune systems, children and older adults are at a greater risk of severe illness. There are 420 Salmonella deaths in the U.S. each year.

Keep eggs safe at home by storing them in a clean refrigerator at a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

Use a thermometer to check the temperature of the fridge.

Make sure to use refrigerated eggs within three weeks and use or eat hardboiled eggs within a week after cooking.

What about the dyes?

These food dyes are the same artificial colors the Trump administration has been working to remove from the U.S. food supply.

They are made using petroleum, which some studies have tied to behavioral problems in children.

However, the shell absorbs the majority of the coloring and the dyes are generally considered safe, Martin Bucknavage, a senior food safety specialist at Penn State University, told Everyday Health this week.

“If one does have an issue with artificial colors, they can use colors from natural sources, understanding that these colors will not be as brilliant,” he said.