Allura Red AC was originally created by the Allied Chemical Corporation in 1971. In the European Union, it is approved, but it must carry a warning label. The US Food and Drug Administration considers it safe for use in food, drugs, and cosmetics. It has faced increasing pressure for removal from food in some areas, with California banning it in public schools.
Allura Red AC is a type of Napthalenseulfonic acid. Allura Red AC came to the United States to be used in place of Amaranth, a Red Azo Dye, due to health concerns.[3] An Napthalenesulfonic acid is used for dye production in food products. Allura Red AC is added into food products to make the overall product of the food be more pleasing, attracting people to buy the product. [4]
Use as a consumable coloring agent
Allura Red AC is a popular dye used worldwide. Annual production in 1980 was greater than 2.3 million kilograms.[5] It was introduced as a replacement for amaranth in the United States.[6]
The European Union approved Allura Red AC as a food colorant in 1994, but EU countries' local laws banning food colorants were preserved[7] until subsequent changes in the 2000s.
In the United States, Allura Red AC is approved by the FDA for use in cosmetics, drugs, and food. When prepared as a lake pigment, it is disclosed as Red 40 Lake or Red 40 Aluminum Lake. It is used in some tattoo inks and is used in many products, such as cotton candy, soft drinks, candy, cherry-flavored products, children's medications, and dairy products. It is occasionally used to dye medicinal tablets to help with identification, such as with fexofenadine, an antihistamine.[8] It is by far the most commonly used red dye in the United States,[9] completely replacing amaranth (Red 2) and also replacing erythrosine (Red 3) in most applications due to the negative health effects of those two dyes.[10]
History
Allura Red AC was developed in 1971 by the Allied Chemical Corporation.[11][12]
Allura Red AC has had many names. It began as Coal Tar Dye, in the early 1800s. It was made by distilling tar and used as a synthetic dye[clarification needed]. Later, it was tested in food products. The first Allura Red AC version of Coal Tar was Napthol Red S, which dissolves quickly in water, producing a red color.[13]
Coal Tar Dyes opened the door to other types of synthetic dyes: chemists tried diazotization of aniline, which produces a salt. This led to Red Azo Dyes,[14] first produced in 1877.[15]
With more studies coming out on Red Azo Dyes, in 1886 O. Knecht created Amaranth. In 1976, the FDA banned amaranth, suspecting it of being carcinogenous.[16] Allura Red AC was introduced as a safer food dye. It allowed for cheaper and faster production and lasted longer in food products.[17]
Since the 2000s, Allura Red AC is the most commonly used red dye.[18] In the United States, it remains one of the most used dyes, despite massive health concerns[19]. Throughout its history, it has consistently been used in sweets such as candies and jellies[20].
Studies on safety
Allura Red AC is the coloring additive in this strawberry soft drink.Allura Red AC in confectionery
Allura Red has been heavily studied by food safety groups in North America and Europe, and remains in wide use. However, chronic exposure to the dye has been shown to increase susceptibility to bowel disorders in mice.[21] The dye has also been shown to damage the DNA of and cause colonic inflammation in mice.[22][unreliable medical source?]
The UK's Food Standards Agency commissioned a study of six food dyes, dubbed the "Southampton 6" (tartrazine, Allura Red, Ponceau 4R, Quinoline Yellow, sunset yellow, carmoisine), and sodium benzoate (a preservative) on children in the general population, who consumed them in beverages.[23][24] The study found "a possible link between the consumption of these artificial colours and a sodium benzoate preservative and increased hyperactivity" in the children;[23][24] the advisory committee to the FSA that evaluated the study also determined that because of study limitations, the results could not be extrapolated to the general population, and further testing was recommended.[23]
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), with a stronger emphasis on the precautionary principle(requiring proof that a substance is safe before allowing it in food), required labelling and temporarily reduced the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for the food colorings; the UK FSA called for voluntary withdrawal of the colorings by food manufacturers.[23][24] However, in 2009, the EFSA re-evaluated the data at hand and determined that "the available scientific evidence does not substantiate a link between the color additives and behavioral effects",[23] and in 2014, after further review of the data, the EFSA restored the prior ADI levels.[25] In 2015, the EFSA found that the exposure estimates did not exceed the ADI of 7mg/kg per day in any population.[26] However, the EU now requires that all products containing synthetic food dyes display a label reading "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children".[27][28]
In contrast, the US GRAS policy does not include color additives and must be dealt with separately.[29] The US FDA did not make changes following the publication of the Southampton study. Following a citizen petition filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest in 2008, requesting the FDA ban several food additives, the FDA commenced a review of the available evidence but found no evidence to justify changes.[23]
Allura Red AC has previously been banned in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Sweden.[30] This changed in 2008, when the EU adopted a common framework for authorizing food additives,[31] under which Allura Red AC is not currently banned.[26] In Norway and Iceland, it was banned between 1978 and 2001, a period in which azo dyes were only legally used in alcoholic beverages and some fish products.[32]
In September 2024, California banned the inclusion of Allura Red AC, along with five other artificial dyes, in food served in the state's public schools.[33]
In April 2025, the US FDA officially announced a plan to phase out Allura Red AC along with other petroleum-based dyes by the end of the year as part of the administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again initiative.[34] The plan does not ban the chemical, relying on food producers working with the FDA to voluntarily remove Allura Red AC from their products. The FDA has compiled a spreadsheet of companies who have pledged to remove petroleum based dyes from their products.[35]
*Countries that have no laws concerning red 40 or have not been added yet
Alternatives
Natural alternatives for red 40 include beet juice/powder, paprika, hibiscus, and red radish. The FDA is revoking authorization for the use of FD&C Red No. 3 in foods and ingested drugs.[41] The FDA keeps a database containing the regulatory status of color additives.[42]
References
↑Zvi Rappoport, ed. (2004). The Chemistry of Phenols. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN9780470869451.
↑PubChem. "Allura Red AC". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
↑PubChem. "E129". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
↑Sharma, Vinita; McKone, Harold T.; Markow, Peter G. (2011). "A Global Perspective on the History, Use, and Identification of Synthetic Food Dyes". Journal of Chemical Education. 88 (1): 24–28. Bibcode:2011JChEd..88...24S. doi:10.1021/ed100545v.
↑Barrows, Julie N. (2016). Wallin, Harriet (ed.). "Allura Red AC". 82nd Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) - Chemical and Technical Assessment (CTA)– via Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
↑Leach (1905). The Use of Coal Tar Colors in Food Products, Page 7, Page 148. Food and Drink in History Adam Mathews.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)[clarification needed]
↑"Amaranth". www.acs.org. Molecule of the Week. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
↑"Food and Toxicologic Pathology", Haschek and Rousseaux' s Handbook of Toxicologic Pathology, Academic Press, pp.33–103, 1 January 2023, retrieved 27 April 2026
123Sarah Chapman of Chapman Technologies on behalf of Food Standards Agency in Scotland. March 2011 [Guidelines on approaches to the replacement of Tartrazine, Allura Red, Ponceau 4R, Quinoline Yellow, Sunset Yellow and Carmoisine in food and beverages]
↑Esmaeili, Sajjad; Ashrafi-Kooshk, Mohammad Reza; Khaledian, Koestan; Adibi, Hadi; Rouhani, Shohre; Khodarahmi, Reza (2016). "Degradation products of the artificial azo dye, Allura red, inhibit esterase activity of carbonic anhydrase II: A basic in vitro study on the food safety of the colorant in terms of enzyme inhibition". Food Chemistry. 213: 494–504. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.06.078. PMID27451209.
