The present study is an attempt wherein a national level data has been generated covering 16 major States of the country on the usage pattern of colours and to identify food commodities through which a particular color has scope of exceeding acceptable duty intoke (ADI) limits. Out of total analyzed samples, 87.8% contained permitted colors, of which only 48 % adhered to the prescribed limit of 100 mg/kg. Majority of candy floss, sugar toys, beverages, mouth fresheners, ice candy and bakery product samples exceeded the prescribed limit. Non-permitted colors were mostly prevalent in candy floss and sugar toy samples. Though Sunset Yellow FCF (SSYFCF) and Tartrazine were the two popular colors, but many samples used blend of two or more colors. The blend of SSYFCF and Tartrazine exceeded 37 folds of prescribed limit in one sample and the median and 95th percentile levels of this blend were 4.5 and 25.7 folds high, respectively. The exposure assess-ment revealed that intake of Erythrosine exceeded the ADI limits by 2 to 6 times at average levels of detected colors, whereas at 95th percentile level, both SSYFCF and Erythrosine exceeded the respective ADI limits by 3- 12 folds in all the five age groups. Thus, the uniform prescribed limit of synthetic colors at 100 mg/ kg under the Indian rules needs to be reviewed and should be governed by consumption profiles of the food commodities to check the unnecessary exposure of excessive colors to vulnerable population that may pose health risk.

Dixit et al.; Food Additives & Contaminants; 2011; 28; 996-1005.