3 Min Read on Colour Additives Types and Regulations – An Easy Guide

know about the colour additives types and regulations and diseases caused by the usage of colour additives

Colour Additives-What is it? 

Colour additives are dyes, pigments, or substances that bestow colour to food, drug, or the human body in order to make them attractive.

​​​​​​​Types of Colour Additives

Natural Additives

Natural food colour additives are extracted from vegetables or minerals that help in colouring food substances. Seeds, fruits, vegetables and algae are used for the extraction of dyes. These additives maintain the standards of colour additives types and regulations.

Different Natural Colours

• Red, Blue and Violet: Anthocyanins found in beetroots, raspberries and red cabbages.
• Green: Chlorophylls found in all leaves and stems.
• Yellow, Orange, Red: Carotenoids found in Tomatoes Apricots and  Carrots.

Synthetic Colour Additives Types and Regulations

These are artificial colouring agents that are manufactured by chemical reactions and are commonly used in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Some of the standard food colours are Tartrazine, Sunset Yellow, Amaranth, Allura Red, Quinoline Yellow, Brilliant Blue and Indigo Carmine.

Some of the primary colour additives types and regulations leveraged in the industries are

Brilliant Blue, E133 (Blue shade)

Indigotine, E132 (Dark Blue shade)

Fast Green, E143 (Bluish-green shade)

Allura Red AC, E129 (Red shade)

Erythrosine, E127 (Pink shade)

Tartrazine, E102 (Yellow shade)

Sunset Yellow, E110 (Orange shade)

Psychological Properties of Food Color Additives Types and Regulations

Red

Psychological Association: Physical

Positive: Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic survival, ‘fight or flight’, stimulation, masculinity, excitement.

Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain.

Blue

Psychological Association: Intellectual

Positive: Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm

Negative: Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion, unfriendliness

Yellow

Psychological Association: Emotional

Positive: Optimism, confidence, self-esteem, extraversion, emotional strength, friendliness, creativity

Negative: Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility, depression, anxiety, suicide

Green

Psychological Association: Balance

Positive: Harmony, balance, refreshment, universal love, rest, restoration, reassurance, environmental awareness, equilibrium, peace

Negative: Boredom, stagnation, blandness, enervation

Violet (Purple)

Psychological Association: Spiritual

Positive: Spiritual awareness, containment, vision, luxury, authenticity, truth, quality.

Negative: Introversion, decadence, suppression, inferiority

Orange

Positive: Physical comfort, food, warmth, security, sensuality, passion, abundance, fun

Negative: Deprivation, frustration, frivolity, immaturity

Pink

Positive: Physical tranquility, nurture, warmth, femininity, love, sexuality, survival of the species

Negative: Inhibition, emotional claustrophobia, emasculation, physical weakness

Grey

Positive: Psychological neutrality

Negative: Lack of confidence, dampness, depression, hibernation, lack of energy

Black

Positive: Sophistication, glamour, security, emotional safety, efficiency, substance

Negative: Oppression, coldness, menace, heaviness

White

Positive: Hygiene, sterility, clarity, purity, cleanness, simplicity, sophistication, efficiency

Negative: Sterility, coldness, barriers, unfriendliness, elitism

Brown

Positive: Seriousness, warmth, Nature, earthiness, reliability, support

Negative: Lack of humour, heaviness, lack of sophistication

Color Order Chart

Used in

•     Bakery
•     Beverage
•     Confectionery
•     Pharmaceutical Products
•     Blended food colours
•     Dairy & Icecream
•     Cosmetics & Toiletries
•     Soft Drink Concentrates
•     Squashes
•     Medicines
•     Seafood
•     All Edible preparations

Regulations for food colour additives

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which is a statutory body under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, controls and ensures food safety standards in food colour additives types and regulations. FSSAI has set forth safety regulations for the usage of food colours.

FDA is accountable for regulating all colour additives types and regulations to ensure that foods containing colour additives are safe to eat, contain only approved ingredients and are accurately labelled.

Food additives represented by the manufacturers are put on the labels in the form of codes called E- numbers. The E number range for colours is from E100- E199.

Colour additives functions and benefits

Colour additives can ensure flavour in all the food items from candy to wine, enhance colour, correct natural variations in colour, make food more appetising and informative, and ensure the consistency and visual decoration of the product.

Harmfulness of colour additives

While there are several benefits of colour additives types and regulations agencies have predicted that these colour additives can cause highly dangerous diseases such as ADHD, Cancer, Hypersensitivity.

1. ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is solitary of the highly common mental disorders, noticed in children who can continue to their adolescence and adulthood. ADHD characterised by hyperactivity, unable to focus on things or to pay attention. Many sources predict that ADHD caused due to increased intake of foods that contain colour additives. Therefore, it is advisable to reduce the consumption of foods that contain harmful and excessive colour additives. All the parents should be aware of what their children are having and see to that they do not consume colour additive added foods.
2. Cancer: Cancer has become the buzz word these days, owing to several cancer cases. Though there is no evidence that these additives result in cancer, many closed survey and research proved excessive intake of additives add might result in tumour and cancer

Following is the detailed list of colour additives and their harmful effects

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