Food Colours

Food Colours

Food colours are food additives which are added to foods mainly for the following reasons:

  • to make up for colour losses following exposure to light, air, moisture and variations in temperature;
  • to enhance naturally occurring colours;
  • to add colour to foods that would otherwise be colourless or coloured differently.

Food colours are contained in many foods, including snack foods, margarine, cheese, jams and jellies, and desserts, drinks, etc. Each food colour authorised for use in the European Union (EU) is subject to a rigorous scientific safety assessment.

EFSA's ongoing work and published scientific advice

EFSA's role

EFSA’s roles in the field of food colours mainly involve:

  • carrying out safety evaluations of new food colours before they can be authorised for use in the EU
  • re-evaluating all food colours authorised for use in the EU before 20 January 2009
  • responding to ad hoc requests from the European Commission to review certain food colours in the light of new scientific information and/or changing conditions of use.

As part of its safety evaluations of food colours and other additives EFSA establishes, when possible (i.e. when sufficient information is available), an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for each substance. The ADI is the amount of a substance that people can consume on a daily basis during their whole life without any appreciable risk to health. The ADI can apply to a specific additive or a group of additives with similar properties. When re-evaluating previously authorised colours, EFSA may either confirm or amend an existing ADI following review of all available evidence.

EU framework

Under Commission Regulation 1331/2008 all food additives must undergo a safety evaluation by EFSA prior to their authorisation by EU risk managers. According to Commission Regulation 1333/2008, all food additives authorised for use in the (EU) before 20 January 2009 should be subject to a new risk assessment by EFSA.

Commission Regulation 257/2010 establishes a programme for the re-evaluation of approved food additives. Annex II of the regulation specifies, in descending order of priority, three groups of food colours, namely Groups 1, 2 and 3, and the deadline for their re-evaluation. According to this programme, food colours are to be evaluated with priority as these were among the first additives to be assessed by the former Scientific Committee on Food many years ago. For some colours new studies have become available that need to be taken into account.

The European Commission may occasionally request EFSA’s advice on food allergies when deciding upon the possible inclusion of food colours in the list of food allergens in Annex IIIa of Directive 2000/13/EC on the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs.
 

EFSA's activities

Safety assessments of food colours are carried out by EFSA’s Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to food (ANS). The Panel’s safety evaluations of food colours and other food additives involve a review of all available, relevant scientific studies as well as data on toxicity and human exposure, from which the Panel draws conclusions regarding the safety of the substance.

Consideration whether certain food colours are likely to trigger adverse reactions with respect to food allergies is carried out by EFSA’s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies.

Main work in progress

Mandate for re-evaluations of various food colours authorised for use in the EU before 20 January 2009 – Groups 1, 2 and 3

  • ANS Panel and its working groups
  • Milestones:
    • 15 April 2010 – Food colours Group1
    • 31 December 2010 – Food colours Group 2
      • Awaiting assessment of new data: 31 July 2012 (E 131 – Patent Blue V), 31 December 2012 (E 132 – Indigo carmine)
    • 31 December 2015 – Food colours Group 3
Last updated: 27 April 2012

See also