Abstract: A group of water-soluble polymeric yellow colors and their preparation is disclosed. These colors comprise a plurality of units of a chromophore of the formula ##STR1## wherein M.sup.+ is a pharmaceutically acceptable monovalent cation, attached directly to amine units present in a nonchromophoric polymer backbone. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the backbone is a homopolymer or copolymer of vinylamine. These colorants find special utility as nonabsorbable colorants for edibles, especially foods and beverages, where their yellow hue is an excellent color match for existing monomeric azo food colors such as tartrazine, and as components of acid-insoluble pigment lakes which are themselves suitable for use in edibles.