Use of Food Colours Perspectives from the East and The West

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Use of Food Colours- Perspectives from the East
and The West
PRATIMA RAO JASTI INTERNATIONAL LIFE SCIENCES
INSTITUTE, EUROPEAN BRANCH Brussels, Belgium
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CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION
• TYPES OF COLOURS AND HAZARDS
• USE OF COLOURS IN EAST AND WEST
• FOOD COLOURS SCARES/CASES
• FOOD SAFETY MEASURES

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•  INTRODUCTION

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• A color additive is any dye, pigment or
• substance which when added or applied to a
• food, drug or cosmetic, or to the human
• body, is capable (alone or through reactions
• with other substances) of imparting color.

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REASONS

•  Used to
• Improve a foods keeping properties
• Maintain or improve nutritional value
• Maintain and improve a products sensory
  properties, such as texture, consistency, taste,
  aroma and colour.
• Maintain palatability and wholesomeness
• Offset color loss due to exposure to light, air,
  temperature extremes, moisture and storage
  conditions
• Correct natural variations in color
• Enhance colors that occur naturally
• Provide color to colorless and fun foods

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•  TYPES
• HAZARDS

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ARTIFICIAL COLOURS VS NATURAL COLOURS

• Natural colours
• Obtained from natural processed by physical
  means
• less stable
• less bright
• not uniform
• Expensive
• Benefits to health
• Consumer acceptability good

•  Artificial colours
• Obtained by chemical
• reactions
• high stability to light, oxygen and pH
• colour uniformity
• low microbiological contamination
• low production cost
• Health concerns allergens
• Cancer risks??
• Consumer acceptability questionable?

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Adding colour - Do we need it? Which one would
you buy? And which do you think would taste
better? Some people react badly to
tartrazine. Some manufacturers have started to
replace it with turmeric oleoresin.
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POSSIBLE HAZARDS
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POSSIBLE HAZARDS
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•  COLOURS IN THE WEST

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Food Colours different across the world

• Colours in specified limits based on
  technological needs
• Regional, cultural differences, types of foods
• Toxicological evidences
• GMP limit amount of food colour achieve
  desired effect

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Permitted Food Colours in EU

• E101 (i) Riboflavin, (ii) Riboflavin-5'-phosphate
• E102 Tartrazine
• E104 Quinoline yellow
• E110 Sunset Yellow FCF Orange Yellow S
• E120 Cochineal Carminic acid Carmines
• E122 Azorubine Carmoisine
• E123 Amaranth
• E124 Ponceau 4R Cochineal Red A
• E127 Erythrosine
• E128 Red 2G (2007- removed from the list)
• E129 Allura Red AC
• E131 Patent Blue V
• E132 lndigotine Indigo Carmine
• E133 Brilliant Blue FCF
• E141 Chlorophylls and chlorophyllins
• E141 Copper complexes of chlorophyll and
• chlorophyllins
• E142 Green S
• E150a Plain caramel

E100 Curcumin E151 Brilliant Black BN Black
PN E153 Vegetable carbon E154 Brown FK E155 Brown
HT E160a Carotenes E160b Annatto Bixin
Norbixin E160c Paprika extract
Capsanthian Capsorubin E160d Lycopene E160e
Beta-apo-8'-carotenal (C30) E160e Ethyl ester of
beta-apo-8'-carotenoic acid (C30) E161b
Lutein E161g Canthaxanthin E162 Beetroot Red
Betanin E163 Anthocyanins E170 Calcium
carbonate E171 Titanium dioxide E172 Iron oxides
and hydroxides E173 Aluminium E174 Silver E175
Gold E180 Litholrubine BK
Colours in pink are controversial
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SOUTHAMPTON STUDY
Six food colourings in question Mix A with
Sodium benzoate E 110 Sunset Yellow E 122
Carmoisine E 102 Tartrazine E 124 Ponceau
4R Mix B with Sodium benzoate E 110 Sunset
Yellow E 122 Carmoisine E 129 Allura Red E 104
Quinone Yellow
Randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled,
crossover trial test whether intake of
artificial colours and additives affected
children behaviour. Methods 155 3 year and 144
8/9 year old children Challenge drink sodium
benzoate and one of two AFCA mixes (A or B) or a
placebo mix.
Main outcome measure Global Hyperactivity
Aggregate (GHA)
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SOUTHAMPTON STUDY
Findings 16 3-year old and 14 8/9 year old
children did not complete the study reasons
unrelated to childhood behaviour. Interpretation
Artificial colours or sodium benzoate
preservative (or both) in the diet result in
increased hyperactivity in 3-year old and 8/9
year-old children.
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EFSAS OPINION

• Study provides limited evidence
• Two different mixtures of synthetic colours and
  sodium benzoate had a small and statistically
  significant effect on activity and attention in
  some children.
• The effects were not observed for all children in
  all age groups.
• It is not possible to assess the overall
  prevalence of such sensitivity in the general
  population and reliable data on sensitivity to
  individual additives are not available.

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FSAS Recommendation

• Proposals for new legislation on food additives
• consumption may have an adverse effect on
  activity and attention in children.

The agency will work closely with manufacturers
and retailers.
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UK FSAs position

• UK FSA - colours in Southampton study - banned
  (but not the preservative benzoic acid which was
  also in the doses given).
• Additive permissions the power to amend the
  colour food standards - UK government ban is
  therefore voluntary.
• Initiated an EU review
• FSA - brands and companies - to remove the
  colours from their products.
• Large food manufacturers and retailers - to
  remove these colours from their products.
  www.foodnavigator.com/Legislation/FSA-lists-produc
  ts-free-of-Southampton-colours
• Currently a lot of food industry concern that the
  UK FSA have taken a risk management course of
  action which is contrary to the science as
  outlined by the UKs COT and EFSA.

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US - SCENARIO

• Estimate - 1000 tonnes of certified food colours
  are used in the USA alone.
• FDA - regulates all color additives to ensure
  that foods containing color additives
• are safe to eat, contain only approved
  ingredients and are accurately labeled.
• Colours

Candies, snack foods, margarine, soft drinks,
jams, jellies Gelatins, pudding and pie fillings
Certified colours
colors that are exempt from certification
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• February 2009 Maryland first state to
  considers ban on Food Additives Linked to ADHD

Warning The color additives in this food may
cause hyperactivity and behavior problems in some
children.
http//www.foodnavigator.com/Publications/Food-Bev
erage-Nutrition/FoodProductionDaily/Quality-Safety
/Maryland-eyes-artificial-food-color-ban
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•  COLOURS IN THE EAST

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CHANGING TRENDS IN INDIA
Switch over from use of non-permitted to
Permitted Food Colours.
Use of only six of eight food colours that are
permitted in India
Majority of foods colours
exceeding the limits
Continued use of
erythrosine
Foods not part of PFA list contained colours
Manufacturers to comply with regulation in food
colours
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Concentration of Permitted Food Colours in
Various Foods from Urban and Rural Areas
Pratima Bhat, Nutrition and Food Science
33230, 2003
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Exposure to colour intakes- Indian example
(Plt0.05)
(Pratima Rao, Doctoral thesis, 2004)
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ADI Concept

• The ADI has been defined as the amount of
• a substance that can be consumed
• everyday throughout the lifetime of an
• individual without any appreciable adverse
• health effects.
• (JECFA,1996).

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PERMITTED FOOD COLOURS SAFETY ASSESSMENT
Colour Name
Acceptable Daily Intake

(mg/kg bw) Red colour
Ponceau 4R 4.0 Red
colour Carmoisine
4.0 Red colour
Erythrosine
0.1 Yellow colour Tartrazine
7.5 Yellow colour
Sunset yellow FCF 2.5 Blue
colour Indigo carmine
5.0 Blue colour
Brilliant blue FCF 12.5
Green
Fast green FCF 25.0
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Why are Children High Risk Groups?

• Exposure of children to toxic substances such as
  food additives esp. food colours needs to be
  evaluated
• 1) In order to assess their risk i.e. exposure
  to toxic substances ingested in the diet.
• 2) Quantitate their colour intake to check if
  ADI of colours is not exceeded.

http//europe.ilsi.org/NR/rdonlyres/4A2F55EB-ED86-
42B6-96AF-149FDB5B1DD3/0/ILSIAppl.pdf
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Profile of ADI among 1-5 and 6-18 years
individuals
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(Pratima Rao, Doctoral thesis, 2004)
(Body weight of 1-5 years19.7kg 6-18
years21.7kg NCHS STANDARDS)
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Food colours permitted in foods - Dubai
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Cases of food adulteration
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• FOOD COLOURS ISSUES

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Sudan I the bungles that putpoisons on our
plates

• European Union food safety
• summit Imported Chilli
• powder contaminated with Sudan 1.

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KFC pulls food after contamination scare
All KFC outlets in China have stopped selling New
Orleans roast chicken wings and chicken
hamburgers Wednesday after the cancer-causing
food coloring, Sudan I, was found in the sauce
Tuesday
By Wu Chong and Shao Xiaoyi (China Daily)
2005-03-17
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INDIAN PICKLE JOINS SUDAN SCARE
Chilli pickles join the growing list of products
on UK supermarket shelves contaminated by the
harmful, and illegal, red food dye, Sudan I.
http//www.foodnavigator.com/Legislation/Indian-pi
ckle-joins-sudan-scare 25-Jan-2005
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Cancer scare over food colour added to sausages
and burgers
Sausages could contain cancer-causing dyes say
Eurochiefs
10 July 2007
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Melamine scare highlights food chain risks
China is a major transgressor as carcinogenic
chemicals are regularly used as food colouring
agents or as preservatives, experts say. "In
China, food safety is not a concern and all sorts
of things like Sudan red, Malachite green are
added in food, so food contamination is
widespread," said Peter Yu, professor of biology
and chemical technology at the Hong Kong
Polytechnic University.
http//www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/03/2408
563.htm Posted Mon Nov 3, 2008 1229pm AEDT
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COLOURED FOODS CAN CAUSE SERIOUS HEALTH HAZARDS
You may think twice before consuming processed
foods for fear of synthetic food colours, which
makes them attractive. The need of the hour is
to ensure strict enforcement of Prevention of
Food Adulteration Act and consumer education
programme to prevent excessive intake of
permitted as well as non-permitted coloured food
items
http//news.indiainfo.com/2005/07/31/3107coloured-
foods.html July 31 2005
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SUMMARY

• Developed countries vs developing countries
• Various countries use various colours
• Predominant use of approved colours yet at higher
  concentrations
• Unapproved food colours usage- check on
  unorganised sectors (e.g. Street foods)
• Need for more risk assessment studies
• Judicious use of colours (especially in foods for
  children)

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• FOOD SAFETY MEASURES

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Which of these viewpoints do you agree with? Are
there any additives you would ban? And why? Or
should some be made compulsory to improve our
diet?
Well, I will avoid some additives but most seem
pretty safe to me. I would ban some but keep the
others.
Additives are bad. If we concentrated on making
good quality healthy food and eating local
produce we wouldnt need them. There is a risk
however small. Lets just get rid of them all for
safetys sake.
What a lot of fuss about nothing! Additives have
been tested and any that are unsafe are soon
banned. They keep our foods fresh, make them
taste better and some even make them healthier
for us! Whats there to ban?
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Way forward.

• Global harmonisation
• Food control specially implementation
• of regulations is crucial
• Ensure food safety
• Effective risk communication
• Holistic approach is ideal
• Science based decisions are the need of the hour

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• From Food Safety Scare
• To
• Food Safety Care

Let scientific rational be the basis