Are food colourings dangerous?

There is no single answer: each colouring is assessed separately by EFSA, with an acceptable daily intake where needed. Most are authorised with conditions of use. A few raise questions: six colourings (E102, E104, E110, E122, E124, E129) carry a warning for children, and titanium dioxide (E171) has been banned since 2022. A colouring remains above all an indicator of a processed product.

Is a natural colouring always better than a synthetic one?

Not always. A natural colouring such as curcumin (E100), carotene (E160a) or beetroot red (E162) remains an assessed additive. Caramels (E150a to E150d), for example, have an acceptable daily intake set by EFSA, lower for E150c. The natural origin of a colouring does not exempt it from assessment, and an added colour remains an indicator of a processed product.

Why was titanium dioxide (E171) banned?

In May 2021, EFSA concluded that a genotoxicity concern, meaning a risk of damage to DNA, could not be ruled out, and that E171 could no longer be considered safe in food. Regulation (EU) 2022/63 removed it from the list of authorised additives: applied from 7 February 2022, with a six-month transition period.

Food colourings: natural, synthetic, which to avoid?

What are colourings for?

A food colouring is an additive used to give a colour to a food, to restore a colour lost during manufacture or storage, or to enhance a natural shade. Its function is therefore mainlyvisual: it does not preserve, does not make the food more nutritious and does not improve its taste. In the European Union, their use must not mislead consumers about the nature or quality of the product, and they are labelled by their name or E number.

They are identified by their number, betweenE100 and E199. Under the re-evaluation of additives authorised before 2009, EFSA reviewed 41 colourings. For general context on additives, our pilot articleAdditives: are they all a real danger?sets the scene.

Natural or synthetic: a less clear line than it seems

Two broad families are generally distinguished. Colouringsof natural originare extracted from plants, fruits or seaweed. Colouringsof synthetic originare chemically manufactured, such as the yellow and red azo colourings of sweets and sodas.

Curcumin (E100): yellow extracted from the turmeric rhizome.
Carotenes (E160a): yellow-orange, found in carrots and other plants.
Betanin, beetroot red (E162): pink to red, from red beetroot.
Caramels (E150a to E150d): brown, obtained by heating sugars, with or without reagents depending on the type.
Spirulina: microalgae whose extract serves as a natural blue, widely cited in the sector.

Be careful not to fall into the shortcut "natural means risk-free". A natural colouring remains an additive assessed by the authorities. Thecaramelsare a good example: in 2011, EFSA set a group acceptable daily intake of 300 mg per kilo of body weight per day for the four caramels, with a lower value of 100 mg for E150c. In 2012, it estimated that actual exposure was much lower than imagined: only E150c could exceed the dose, for very high consumers, toddlers and adults. Conversely, some synthetic colourings have conditions of use that are controlled, without authorities judging them dangerous at usage doses.

The six colourings that carry a warning

In 2007, a study by the University of Southampton, funded by the British Food Standards Agency, suggested a possible link between consumption of colour mixtures with sodium benzoate and increased hyperactivity in children. EFSA welcomed the scale of the work but judged in 2008 that the evidence waslimited: the effect observed was small, not consistent between the two age groups, and the study tested mixtures, which made it impossible to incriminate a single additive.

Nevertheless, as a precaution, Europe made mandatory from20 July 2010, a notice on products containing any of these six colourings:

E102: tartrazine (yellow).
E104: quinoline yellow (yellow).
E110: sunset yellow FCF (orange).
E122: carmoisine, or azorubine (red).
E124: Ponceau 4R (red).
E129: Allura Red AC (red).

The notice, required by Annex V of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, states that the colouring "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children". It should be read as a precautionary signal, not as proof of a certain effect. In 2009, EFSA considered that the data did not justify changing the acceptable daily intakes of tartrazine, carmoisine and Allura Red. In 2012, the European Commission also lowered the maximum permitted levels for E104, E110 and E124.

Titanium dioxide (E171): a colouring that became banned

Thetitanium dioxide (E171)is a white colouring, long used to make sweets or coatings opaque. In May 2021, EFSA concluded that a concern aboutgenotoxicity(ability to damage DNA) could no longer be ruled out, and that E171 could no longer be considered safe as a food additive, with no acceptable daily intake able to be set.

Regulation (EU) 2022/63 removed it from the list of authorised additives: applied from 7 February 2022, with a six-month transition period, then sell-off of stocks until their minimum durability date. This case shows that the list of additives is not fixed. Our article onmarketing trapsalso points out that a reassuring package says nothing about composition.

Manufacturers are turning to natural colourings

For several years, the scientific literature has described a gradual substitution of synthetic colourings by naturally derived ones, partly in response to consumer concerns. The trade-off: most natural colourings are more sensitive to light, heat and acidity, and can react with other ingredients. Manufacturers therefore use stabilisation techniques, such as encapsulation.

Switching from one colouring to another does not change the logic of the product: if colour is added to make an industrial recipe more appealing, that is a sign of processing, whatever the origin of the pigment.

Spotting colourings on the label and in Yumiq

In the ingredient list, a colouring is announced by its function followed by its name or number: "colouring: curcumin" or "colouring: E129". If one of the six colourings above is present, the warning notice also appears. Drinks containing more than 1.2% alcohol are exempt from this requirement.

On Yumiq, the product page shows the number of additives detected and classifies them as harmless, to monitor or of concern. The Yumiq-Score penalises controversial additives assessed by EFSA and ANSES, and the Yumiq star requires the absence of any additive of concern. A colouring is only one indicator among others: the most useful approach is to look at the whole list, from the number of additives to how often the product is consumed.

Food colourings