They're cheap and do the trick by luring in the sheeple. Additives contribute to diabetes and obesity by making you crave more and eat more of exactly what isn't good for you. Also, sheeple like consistency and as such would rather have gelatin from a cow put in their colored yogurt than take a chance with batch changes in thickness and color. woo hoo msg and mad cow.
To preserve the product during shelf life. Coloring is also used to present the same color in each batch.
