Health safety issues of synthetic food colorants

Petra Amchova; Hana Kotolova; Jana Ruda-Kucerova

doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2015.09.026

Health safety issues of synthetic food colorants

Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2015 Dec;73(3):914-22. doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2015.09.026. Epub 2015 Sep 25.

Authors

Petra Amchova¹, Hana Kotolova², Jana Ruda-Kucerova³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Experimental and Applied Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
² Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Czech Republic.
³ Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Experimental and Applied Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. Electronic address: jkucer@med.muni.cz.

PMID: 26404013
DOI: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2015.09.026

Abstract

Increasing attention has been recently paid to the toxicity of additives used in food. The European Parliament and the Council published the REGULATION (EC) No. 1333/2008 on food additives establishing that the toxicity of food additives evaluated before 20th January 2009 must be re-evaluated by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The aim of this review is to survey current knowledge specifically on the toxicity issues of synthetic food colorants using official reports published by the EFSA and other available studies published since the respective report. Synthetic colorants described are Tartrazine, Quinoline Yellow, Sunset Yellow, Azorubine, Ponceau 4R, Erythrosine, Allura Red, Patent Blue, Indigo Carmine, Brilliant Blue FCF, Green S, Brilliant Black and Brown HT. Moreover, a summary of evidence on possible detrimental effects of colorant mixes on children's behaviour is provided and future research directions are outlined.

Keywords: Children's behaviour; Colorant; Food dye; Safety; Toxicity.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Age Factors
Animals
Child
Child Behavior / drug effects*
Child Development / drug effects*
Child, Preschool
Consumer Product Safety*
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Food Coloring Agents / adverse effects*
Food Coloring Agents / chemical synthesis*
Food Coloring Agents / pharmacokinetics
Humans
No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Toxicity Tests

Substances

Food Coloring Agents