Food Colours Explained: The Full List of Authorised Colour Additives and What Each One Is
Colours in Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 – definition, roles and the complete E-number list, by InfoCons
Colour is the first thing you taste with your eyes – InfoCons Consumer Protection
Long before a food reaches the mouth, it is judged by the eyes. Colour shapes our expectations of flavour, freshness and quality, which is why colours are among the most scrutinised of all food additives. In Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, colours form one of the twenty-seven functional categories, and they are also one of the three main groups into which the Union list of additives is organised. This article by InfoCons – Consumer Protection explains what colours are, why they are used, and lists every authorised colour by E number and name.
What the law says: the definition of colours – InfoCons Consumer Protection
According to Annex I of the regulation, colours are substances that add or restore colour in a food, and include natural components of foods and other natural source materials which are not normally consumed as foods in themselves and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food. Preparations obtained from foods and other edible natural source materials by physical and/or chemical extraction resulting in a selective extraction of the pigments relative to the nutritive or aromatic constituents are considered colours within the meaning of the regulation.
The regulation also sets specific conditions for authorising a colour, beyond the general safety, technological-need and non-misleading requirements. A colour may be included only if it helps to restore the original appearance of food whose colour has been affected by processing, storage, packaging and distribution; to make food more visually attractive; or to give colour to food that would otherwise be colourless. This ensures that colouring is justified and does not deceive the consumer about the true nature of a product.
What colours do in your food – InfoCons Consumer Protection
Processing, heat, light and time all tend to strip or dull the natural colour of foods. Colours are used to compensate for these losses, to make products look consistent from batch to batch, and to give an appealing appearance to items that would otherwise be pale or grey. In confectionery, soft drinks, desserts and snacks, colours are often central to the product identity that consumers recognise.
Colours come from a wide range of sources. Some are natural pigments such as carotenes, anthocyanins, chlorophylls and beetroot red; others are mineral in origin, such as calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide and iron oxides; and others are synthetically produced azo and non-azo dyes. The fact that a colour carries an E number says nothing, by itself, about whether it is natural or synthetic – that is determined by the specific substance.
The authorised colours: E numbers and names – InfoCons Consumer Protection
The following colours are authorised in the Union list. Each is identified by its E number and its name, exactly as a consumer would need to recognise it in an ingredient list:
E 100 – Curcumin
E 101 – Riboflavins
E 102 – Tartrazine
E 104 – Quinoline Yellow
E 110 – Sunset Yellow FCF / Orange Yellow S
E 120 – Cochineal, Carminic acid, Carmines
E 122 – Azorubine, Carmoisine
E 123 – Amaranth
E 124 – Ponceau 4R, Cochineal Red A
E 127 – Erythrosine
E 129 – Allura Red AC
E 131 – Patent Blue V
E 132 – Indigotine, Indigo carmine
E 133 – Brilliant Blue FCF
E 140 – Chlorophylls and chlorophyllins
E 141 – Copper complexes of chlorophylls and chlorophyllins
E 142 – Green S
E 150a – Plain caramel
E 150b – Caustic sulphite caramel
E 150c – Ammonia caramel
E 150d – Sulphite ammonia caramel
E 151 – Brilliant Black BN, Black PN
E 153 – Vegetable carbon
E 155 – Brown HT
E 160a – Carotenes
E 160b – Annatto, bixin, norbixin
E 160c – Paprika extract, capsanthin, capsorubin
E 160d – Lycopene
E 160e – Beta-apo-8'-carotenal (C 30)
E 161b – Lutein
E 161g – Canthaxanthin
E 162 – Beetroot Red, betanin
E 163 – Anthocyanins
E 170 – Calcium carbonate
E 171 – Titanium dioxide
E 172 – Iron oxides and hydroxides
E 173 – Aluminium
E 174 – Silver
E 175 – Gold
E 180 – Litholrubine BK
A few points deserve special attention. The caramels E 150a to E 150d refer to colouring substances of a more or less intense brown, and are distinct from the sweet, aromatic caramel produced by heating sugars for flavouring. Certain colours – such as E 123, E 127, E 160b, E 161g, E 173 and E 180 and their mixtures – may not be sold directly to consumers. And a well-known group of colours, sometimes called the Southampton colours, must carry an additional label warning that they may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.
Colours and the informed consumer – InfoCons Consumer Protection
Because colours are so visible in their effect, they are a natural focus of consumer attention, especially for parents. Reading the colour declarations on a label – and noticing when a product carries the children attention warning – is a simple, powerful habit. It allows you to choose, for example, products coloured with natural pigments over those relying on the colours subject to the warning, according to your own preferences.
InfoCons – Consumer Protection stresses that colours also illustrate the cumulative question at the heart of additive awareness. A single brightly coloured product may contain several colours at once, and a basket full of such products multiplies the total. Seeing not just each colour but the sum of colours and other additives across your shopping is what gives you the full picture.
How much may be used: conditions, limits and quantum satis – InfoCons Consumer Protection
Being authorised is only the beginning. Under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, every colour may be used only in the specific food categories set out in the Union list and only under the conditions attached to each entry. For many substances the list sets a numerical maximum level, expressed in milligrams per kilogram of food; for others it applies the quantum satis principle, meaning no fixed numerical limit is set and the substance must be used in accordance with good manufacturing practice, at no more than the level needed to achieve the intended effect, and without misleading the consumer.
The regulation also requires that the amount used be limited to the lowest level necessary to obtain the desired technological effect. Where maximum levels apply, they take into account the acceptable daily intake established for the substance and the likely intake from all dietary sources, including for special groups such as children. As a rule, maximum levels apply to the food as marketed, with a specific adjustment for dehydrated or concentrated foods that must be reconstituted before consumption.
For the consumer, this means that the presence of a colour on a label does not imply it can be used without limit. On the contrary, its use is bounded by category, by purpose and, in many cases, by a precise maximum. InfoCons – Consumer Protection considers these conditions of use one of the most important, and least understood, protections in the whole system.
Safety first: assessment, ADI and re-evaluation – InfoCons Consumer Protection
No colour reaches the Union list without first being assessed as safe at its proposed levels of use, on the basis of the available scientific evidence. For many additives, scientific bodies establish an acceptable daily intake, or ADI – an estimate of the amount that can be consumed every day over a lifetime without appreciable risk. The conditions of use are then set so that realistic consumption across the whole diet is expected to remain within this safe boundary.
Crucially, authorisation is not permanent and untouchable. The European Union has committed to a systematic re-evaluation of previously approved additives by the European Food Safety Authority in the light of current scientific knowledge. Producers and users are also legally obliged to report immediately any new scientific or technical information that might affect an additive's safety assessment. Together, these mechanisms mean that each colour remains under review and its authorisation can be maintained, tightened or withdrawn as the evidence evolves.
InfoCons – Consumer Protection views this combination of prior assessment and continuous re-evaluation as the backbone of consumer confidence. It allows consumers to treat an authorised additive as one that has been vetted, while understanding that the system remains vigilant rather than complacent.
Natural, nature-identical or synthetic? – InfoCons Consumer Protection
A common misunderstanding is that every E number denotes an artificial chemical. In reality, additives within a single functional class can come from very different origins: some are extracted from natural sources, some are nature-identical versions of substances found in nature, and some are produced synthetically. The E number identifies the substance and confirms it is authorised; it does not, on its own, tell you whether the source is natural or synthetic.
This matters because consumers often have legitimate preferences about origin, whether for dietary, ethical or personal reasons. Reading the specific name behind the functional class – not just the fact that a colour is present – is what allows an informed choice. InfoCons – Consumer Protection encourages consumers to look past the general fear of E numbers and to focus instead on the specific substances and their documented roles.
Smart shopping: putting this category in perspective – InfoCons Consumer Protection
The practical takeaway for shoppers is neither alarm nor indifference, but attention. Knowing what a colour does, recognising it on a label, and understanding that its use is limited by law allows you to judge products calmly and compare them meaningfully. Two similar products can differ substantially in how many additives they contain, and the more informed you are, the easier it is to choose according to your own priorities.
Above all, InfoCons – Consumer Protection emphasises the cumulative picture. A single product may contain several additives, the same additive may recur across many products in your basket, and a single meal can bring together additives from several sources at once. The real question is therefore not only what each label says, but how many additives you accumulate across your whole shopping and across your day. That is the perspective that turns label-reading into genuine control over your diet.
The InfoCons Additives Calculator: how many additives are really in your basket? – InfoCons Consumer Protection
Understanding the law is one thing; seeing what it means for your own shopping basket is another. A single processed product can contain several additives at once, and an ordinary weekly shop can add up to dozens or even hundreds of additive occurrences once you sum every product together. What is more, the same additive can appear in many different products in the same basket, which means it enters the consumer’s diet repeatedly.
To answer this, InfoCons – Consumer Protection offers consumers the Only Additives Calculator for the food products bought or consumed. It is the only calculator for food shopping that shows the number of additives present and how many times a given additive is found in the shopping basket. Instead of looking at each product in isolation, the consumer gets a complete picture of the whole basket, seeing the real, cumulative number of additives being purchased.
The same logic applies to a single meal. A breakfast, a lunch or a dinner can bring together several processed products, each with its own set of additives. When these products are eaten together, the additives add up. A seemingly simple meal can, in reality, mean the simultaneous consumption of a surprisingly large number of food additives – colours, preservatives, emulsifiers, flavour enhancers, stabilizers and more. That is why the question “how many additives do I consume at one meal?” is just as important as “how many additives am I buying?”
As a practical solution, the InfoCons application helps consumers identify additives quickly. By scanning the barcode of an agri-food product, the app identifies the product and shows the food additives it contains, turning the “E” codes on the label into clear, easy-to-understand information. In this way, consumers can see how many additives are cumulated in their shopping basket or even in a single meal, and can make informed choices for themselves and their families – right there, in front of the shelf.
Signed:
InfoCons Consumer Protection Department of Studies and Comparative Testing