Synthetic Colors also known as coal tar dyes, synthetic dyes and artificial colors. FD&C refers to food, drugs and cosmetics. D&C refers to drugs and cosmetics. They will be labeled as FD&C or D&C, followed by a color and a number. Example: FD&C Red No. 6 / D&C Green No. 6 and sometimes followed by the work “lake”. In industrial production of colorants, “lake” is a term used for pigments or dyes that are precipitated with metal salts such as aluminum, calcium, barium, or others. Some of the lake dyes may be derived from naturally occurring plant or animal ingredients but the vast majority of lakes is synthetically produced from coal tar or petroleum.