There are many artificial colours and flavours. You must be more specific. Avoid eating anything artificial as it is not good for your body.

This may sound simple but artificial coloring is made out of synthesized chiecmicals that mimic the smell and color of the desired food.

You probably don't want to know. Most of them are synthesized in laboratories by large chemical companies and tested on animals to determine potential toxicity and then sent through a complex subjective screening process to determine how accurate and palatable it is. The chemical process is then refined until the flavoring is acceptable. There is a classic article in the Atlantic Monthly regarding one single artificial flavor in Burger King's strawberry milkshakes, and bear in mind that often dozens of these are combined in candies and foodservice products: "A typical artificial strawberry flavor, like the kind found in a Burger King strawberry milk shake, contains the following ingredients: amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone (10 percent solution in alcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, g-undecalactone, vanillin, and solvent. "

The terms 'natural' and 'artificial' when applied to foodstuffs have a very specific legal meaning in most countries. I am familiar with the Canadian definitions. These definitions apply equally to colours and flavours, although my discussion is oriented to flavours. Artificial flavourings are manufactured products, the result of combining various chemical compounds that are legally considered safe for consumption. An artificial flavour may be chemically the same as a natural one - simply produced in a different fashion. A natural flavour is extracted from a naturally-occurring substance. These may be blended with other natural flavours to produce a final product. Natural flavourings may contain ingredients that a person might not immediately relate to the target flavour. The terms natural and artificial simply refer to the source of the ingredients. An artificial flavouring may contain natural ingredients, but a natural flavouring cannot contain anything artificial. The addition of even one artificial ingredient prevents it from being classified as natural. Some people are afraid of the long-winded names of chemical compounds. A detailed breakdown of a banana by chemistry would sound pretty scarey, too. Artificial does not automatically mean unhealthy - it depends on the product and the amount that is consumed. However, some we can do without.

artificial colors are made of dye and flavors are made of extracts