Food additives permitted in the EU: colours
Below is a review of some of the colours present in the list of food additives approved in the European Community on the basis of the European Commission regulation No 1129/2011 published on 11 November 2011. This list is an amendment of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 of the European Parliament, and was itself modified in 2013. It is possible to consult the list in its entirety, both in PDF and HTML format and in the different European languages, by following the link in the References.
| Yellow and orange colours | |
| E100 | Curcumin |
| E101 | (i) Riboflavin, (ii) Riboflavin-5′-phosphate (vitamin B2) |
| E102 | Tartrazine (= FD&C Yellow no. 5) |
| E104 | Quinoline yellow |
| E110 | Sunset Yellow FCF; Orange Yellow S (= FD&C Yellow no. 6) |
| Red colours | |
| E120 | Cochineal; Carminic acid; Carmines |
| E122 | Azorubine; Carmoisine |
| E123 | Amaranth |
| E124 | Ponceau 4R; Cochineal Red A |
| E127 | Erythrosine (= FD&C Red no. 3) |
| E129 | Allura Red AC (= FD&C Red no. 40) |
| Blue colours | |
| E131 | Patent Blue V |
| E132 | lndigotine; Indigo Carmine (= FD&C Blue no. 2) |
| E133 | Brilliant Blue FCF (= FD&C Blue no. 1) |
| Green colours | |
| E140 | Chlorophylls and chlorophyllins: (i) Chlorophylls, (ii) Chlorophyllins (the natural green colour of leaves) |
| E141 | Copper complexes of chlorophyll and chlorophyllins |
| E142 | Green S |
| Brown and black colours | |
| E150a | Plain caramel |
| E150b | Caustic sulphite caramel |
| E150c | Ammonia caramel |
| E150d | Sulphite ammonia caramel |
| E151 | Brilliant Black BN; Black PN |
| E153 | Vegetable carbon |
| E155 | Brown HT |
| Derivatives of carotene | |
| E160a | Carotenes: (i) Mixed carotenes, (ii) Beta-carotene |
| E160b | Annatto; Bixin; Norbixin |
| E160c | Paprika extract; Capsanthin; Capsorubin |
| E160d | Lycopene |
| E160e | trans-beta-apo-8′-carotenal (C30) |
| E160f | Ethyl ester of beta-apo-8′-carotenoic acid (C30) |
| Other plant colours | |
| E161b | Lutein |
| E161c | Beta-cryptoxanthin |
| E161g | Canthaxanthin |
| E162 | Beetroot Red; Betanin |
| E163 | Anthocyanins |
| Other compounds used as colours | |
| E170 | Calcium carbonate |
| E171 | Titanium dioxide |
| E172 | Iron oxides and hydroxides |
| E173 | Aluminium |
| E174 | Silver |
| E175 | Gold |
| E180 | Litholrubine BK |
| FD&C USA; abbreviation for synthetic colours permitted for use in food, drugs and cosmetics. | |
References
- Bender D.A. “Benders’ Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology” 8th ed. Woodhead Publishing. Oxford, 2006
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 1129/2011 of 11 November 2011 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing a Union list of food additives. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1129/2013-11-21