title: Health safety issues of synthetic food colorants.
abstract: Increasing attention has been recently paid to the toxicity of additives used in food. The European Parliament and the Council published the REGULATION (EC) No. 1333/2008 on food additives establishing that the toxicity of food additives evaluated before 20th January 2009 must be re-evaluated by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The aim of this review is to survey current knowledge specifically on the toxicity issues of synthetic food colorants using official reports published by the EFSA and other available studies published since the respective report. Synthetic colorants described are Tartrazine, Quinoline Yellow, Sunset Yellow, Azorubine, Ponceau 4R, Erythrosine, Allura Red, Patent Blue, Indigo Carmine, Brilliant Blue FCF, Green S, Brilliant Black and Brown HT. Moreover, a summary of evidence on possible detrimental effects of colorant mixes on children's behaviour is provided and future research directions are outlined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Experimental and Applied Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Amchova
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kotolova
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Experimental and Applied Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. Electronic address: jkucer@med.muni.cz.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruda-Kucerova
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005505:Food Coloring Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006801:Humans; D019055:No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D005505:Food Coloring Agents
keywords: Children's behaviour; Colorant; Food dye; Safety; Toxicity