Colouring our foods in the last and next millennium

Summary Colour in one form or another, has been added to our foods for centuries. It is known that the Egyptians coloured candy, and wine was coloured as long ago as 400  bc . The developing food industry had available a vast array of synthetic colours in the late 1800s. This led to colours being added for decorative purposes and unfortunately to disguise low quality foods. There was no control over this use of colour and so inevitably legislation came into force. In particular this was as a result of health concerns over some of the toxic compounds used. An established list of permitted synthetic colours eventually came into force in most countries early in this century. In the last twenty years however, consumers have become increasingly aware of the ingredients in their foods and as such they require foods to be as 'natural' as possible. This combined with technological developments has fuelled the increase in the usage of naturally derived colours. Today the food industry has an extensive colour palette available, allowing selection of the most suitable colour for their application requirements. Legislation is also in place to protect the consumer. Colour suppliers are however constantly striving to improve the technical and physical properties of their colour portfolio, to make the use of colour easier, to improve the stability and to meet customer demands on the functional additives used within colour formulations. This paper will review all colours in terms of recent developments and regulations as well as addressing the question of the future of colours in the next millennium.     

Methods for the determination of European Union-permitted added natural colours in foods: a review

Coupled to increasing consumer demand, food manufacturers have moved towards increased usage of approved natural colours. There is a legal requirement for governments to monitor the consumption of all food additives in the European Union to ensure the acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) are not exceeded, especially by young children. Validated analytical methods are needed to fulfil this requirement. The aim of this paper is to review the available literature on methods of extraction for approved natural colours in food and drink. Available analytical methods for the determination of European Union-permitted natural food colour additives in foods and beverages have been assessed for their fitness for purpose in terms of their key extraction and analysis procedures, selectivity and sensitivity, especially with regard to maximum permitted levels, and their applicability for use in surveillance and in an enforcement role. The advantages and disadvantages of available analytical methods for each of nine designated chemical classes (groups) of natural colours in different food and beverage matrices are given. Other important factors such as technical requirements, cost, transferability and applicability are given due consideration. Gaps in the knowledge and levels of validation are identified and recommendations made on further research to develop suitable methods. The nine designated natural colour classes covered are: 1. Curcumin (E100), 2. Riboflavins (E101i-ii), 3. Cochineal (E120), 4. Chlorophylls--including chlorophyllins and copper analogues (E140-141), 5. Caramel Classes I-IV (E150a-d), 6. Carotenoids (E160a-f, E161b, E161g), 7. Beetroot red (E162), 8. Anthocyanins (E163), and 9. Other colours--Vegetable carbon (E153), Calcium carbonate (E170), Titanium dioxide (E171) and Iron oxides and hydroxides (E172).     

Irish National Food Ingredient Database: application for assessing patterns of additive usage in foods.

Patterns of food additive usage in the Irish food supply and changes in patterns of usage between 1995-97 and 1998-99 were assessed by means of an Irish National Food Ingredient Database (INFID). Of the 300 additives permitted for use according to the European Union food additives Directives, some 54% were recorded in foods in INFID. Colours, emulsifiers and acids were the most frequently used additive categories, representing 18, 13 and 12% of the total additives used, respectively. Colours were most commonly recorded in sauces (n = 182 brands, 26% of sauces), emulsifiers were most commonly recorded in biscuits (n = 181 brands, 47% of biscuits) and acids were most commonly recorded in sauces (304 brands, 43% of sauces). Carotenes (E160a), Annatto (E160b), mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E471) and citric acid (E330) were the most commonly used colour, emulsifier and acid, respectively. All diet soft drinks (n = 37), low-fat spreads (n = 25) and liver patés (n = 10) recorded the use of at least one additive. When expressed in terms of the number of brands that contain additives, sauces (n = 522, 73% of sauces), biscuits (n = 323, 84% of biscuits) and preserves (n = 321, 85% of preserves) were ranked highest. For most categories of additive (n = 24), there appeared to be a minimal change in qualitative additive usage between 1995-97 and 1998-99. However, there was a significant increase in the frequency of use of emulsifiers (p < 0.001), acids (p < 0.01), sweeteners (p < 0.05) and acidity regulators (p < 0.05), and a significant decrease in the frequency of use of antioxidants (p < 0.05) during the period 1998-99 compared with 1995-97. Despite changes in additive usage patterns, it appeared that changes in the types of brands on sale between both periods were more apparent than actual changes in qualitative ingredient formulations across brands, as some 17% of brands that were on sale in 1995-97 were no longer on sale in 1998-99.     

2017~2018年江苏省食品添加剂风险监测结果分析

目的研究江苏省食品添加剂的产品质量及存在的风险点。方法对江苏省范围内的食品添加剂进行风险监测,通过对江苏省2017-2018年食品添加剂抽样检查结果的汇总,分析近2年江苏省范围内食品添加剂的质量水平,总结食品添加剂的风险点并制定相应的监督防控措施。结果 2017～2018年江苏省共完成173批次食品添加剂的风险监测,抽检的食品添加剂样品涉及3类:单一食品添加剂、食品用香精及复配食品添加剂,其中溶剂残留检出9批次,塑化剂检出23批次,铝含量超过100 mg/kg检出6批次,检出未标识添加剂5批次。结论当前江苏省食品添加剂存在的风险点主要是溶剂残留、塑化剂残留、高铝成分检出及未如实标注添加剂成分等情况。食品添加剂生产企业及食品加工企业应加强对该类风险点的防控,同时监管部门需增强对食品添加剂的监管力度,制定对食品添加剂生产企业相关风险点的监管措施。     

Pattern of intake of food additives associated with hyperactivity in Irish children and teenagers

A double-blind randomized intervention study has previously shown that a significant relationship exists between the consumption of various mixes of seven target additives by children and the onset of hyperactive behaviour. The present study set out to ascertain the pattern of intake of two mixes (A and B) of these seven target additives in Irish children and teenagers using the Irish national food consumption databases for children (n = 594) and teenagers (n = 441) and the National Food Ingredient Database. The majority of additive-containing foods consumed by both the children and teenagers contained one of the target additives. No food consumed by either the children or teenagers contained all seven of the target food additives. For each additive intake, estimates for every individual were made assuming that the additive was present at the maximum legal permitted level in those foods identified as containing it. For both groups, mean intakes of the food additives among consumers only were far below the doses used in the previous study on hyperactivity. Intakes at the 97.5th percentile of all food colours fell below the doses used in Mix B, while intakes for four of the six food colours were also below the doses used in Mix A. However, in the case of the preservative sodium benzoate, it exceeded the previously used dose in both children and teenagers. No child or teenager achieved the overall intakes used in the study linking food additives with hyperactivity.     

Estimated daily intake and safety of FD&C food-colour additives in the US population

ABSTRACT

A refined exposure assessment was undertaken to calculate the estimated daily intake (EDI) of the seven FD&C straight-colour additives and five FD&C colour lakes (‘synthetic’ food colours) approved in the United States. The EDIs were calculated for the US population as a whole and specific age groups, including children aged 2–5 and 6–12 years, adolescents aged 13–18 years, and adults aged 19 or more y. Actual use data were collected from an industry survey of companies that are users of these colour additives in a variety of products, with additional input from food colour manufacturers. Food-consumption data were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The assessment was further refined by adjusting the intake to more realistic scenarios based on the fraction of products containing colour within specific food categories using data provided by the Mintel International Group Ltd. The results of the analysis indicate that (1) the use levels reported by the industry are consistent with the concentrations measured analytically by the US Food and Drug Administration; and (2) exposure to food-colour additives in the United States by average and high-intake consumers is well below the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of each colour additive as published by the Joint WHO/FAO Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and allows wide margins of safety. It is concluded that food colour use as currently practised in the United States is safe and does not result in excessive exposure to the population, even at conservative ranges of food consumption and levels of use.     

食品添加剂使用标准在餐饮业食品安全监管中的应用

食品添加剂广泛应用于食品生产加工,餐饮业食品与食品工业的食品分类有很大区别,在对我国食品添加剂使用标准本身进行研究的同时,对餐饮业使用食品添加剂情况进行了调查分析与研究,并且对其在餐饮食品安全监督管理中的应用进行了研究与探讨,提出了餐饮业食品添加剂的使用原则,对食品添加剂使用标准全方位应用于餐饮业食品安全监管,充分发挥食品添加剂应有的效能具有重要的意义。     

食品添加剂使用标准在食品安全监管中的应用

目前食品添加剂使用标准多仅用于评价食品是否合格,其应用范围具有局限性,针对这一问题,在对我国食品添加剂使用标准本身进行研究的同时,对其在食品安全监督管理中的应用进行了研究与探讨。将食品添加剂使用标准全方位应用于食品安全监管才能充分发挥其应有的效能,全面实现其对食品安全监管的技术支撑作用,有效提高其应有的社会效益。     

Exposure assessment to synthetic food colours of a selected population in Hyderabad, India

An exposure assessment of synthetic food colours was carried out among 1-5- and 6-18-year-old individuals by the food frequency method. Children had an intake of solid food consumption in the range 2-465 g day^-1 and liquid food consumption in the range 25-840 ml day^-1 with added colours. Among the eight permitted colours in India, six were consumed by the subjects of the study. The intakes of some subjects exceeded the acceptable daily intake for colours such as tartrazine, sunset yellow and erythrosine, which is 7.5, 2.5 and 0.1 mg kg^-1 body weight, respectively. Therefore, a uniform permissible limit of 100 mg kg^-1 prescribed under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act in India for all foods is not justified. The limits need to be revised according to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which permits different maximum levels of additives to various food categories based on both the extent of consumption and the technological justification for its use.     

国外食品添加剂法规标准介绍

介绍了国际食品法典委员会、美国、欧盟、日本有关食品添加剂的定义和范围,食品添加剂法规标准框架结构与内容,以及各国食品添加剂的管理部门和不同的管理方式。为加强我国食品添加剂管理和进口食品中添加剂的使用管理,以及出口食品生产企业组织生产提供参考。     

餐饮环节使用食品添加剂存在的问题与监管现状

食品添加剂是现代食品工业的重要组成部分,虽然我国食品添加剂相关法律、法规、标准较为完善,但监督检查发现餐饮环节食品添加剂使用依然存在一定的问题,包括食品添加剂采购管理制度不落实、贮藏不规范、使用没有制定管理规范、从业人员正确使用添加剂知识欠缺等。根据《广东省食品安全条例》第二十九条规定,餐饮服务允许使用的食品添加剂品种和用量由省级食品药品监督管理部门会同省级卫生行政部门制定、公布并适时调整。基于上述原因,省级食品药品监督管理部门非常有必要牵头针对餐饮服务环节食品添加剂使用管理开展研究,以规范餐饮服务提供者正确、合理使用食品添加剂。本文分析餐饮环节使用食品添加剂存在的问题,掌握餐饮环节食品添加剂使用监管现状,了解当前餐饮环节食品添加剂监管措施,为制定餐饮环节食品添加剂使用管理规范提供参考。     

Assessment of dietary exposure in the French population to 13 selected food colours,preservatives, antioxidants,stabilizers, emulsifiers and sweeteners

The results of French intake estimates for 13 food additives prioritized by the methods proposed in the 2001 Report from the European Commission on Dietary Food Additive Intake in the European Union are reported. These 13 additives were selected using the first and second tiers of the three-tier approach. The first tier was based on theoretical food consumption data and the maximum permitted level of additives. The second tier used real individual food consumption data and the maximum permitted level of additives for the substances which exceeded the acceptable daily intakes (ADI) in the first tier. In the third tier reported in this study, intake estimates were calculated for the 13 additives (colours, preservatives, antioxidants, stabilizers, emulsifiers and sweeteners) according to two modelling assumptions corresponding to two different food habit scenarios (assumption 1: consumers consume foods that may or may not contain food additives, and assumption 2: consumers always consume foods that contain additives) when possible. In this approach, real individual food consumption data and the occurrence/use-level of food additives reported by the food industry were used. Overall, the results of the intake estimates are reassuring for the majority of additives studied since the risk of exceeding the ADI was low, except for nitrites, sulfites and annatto, whose ADIs were exceeded by either children or adult consumers or by both populations under one and/or two modelling assumptions. Under the first assumption, the ADI is exceeded for high consumers among adults for nitrites and sulfites (155 and 118.4%, respectively) and among children for nitrites (275%). Under the second assumption, the average nitrites dietary exposure in children exceeds the ADI (146.7%). For high consumers, adults exceed the nitrite and sulfite ADIs (223 and 156.4%, respectively) and children exceed the nitrite, annatto and sulfite ADIs (416.7, 124.6 and 130.6%, respectively).     

食品添加剂对面团流变学特性影响的初步实验研究

面团的流变学特性会对面制品的质量产生重要影响,而食品添加剂的种类和添加量将显著改变面团的流变学特性。本研究利用质构仪考察了若干种食品添加剂对面团拉伸特性的影响。结果表明:面团中添加NaCl、单甘酯、明胶、抗坏血酸、面粉强筋剂、海藻糖等都对面团的拉伸性能有一定的影响,不同的添加剂影响各异。相对而言,1.5%～2%的NaCl、0.5%的单甘酯、0.4%的明胶、0.4%的面粉强筋剂等都对面团的抗拉伸性能和稳定性有明显改善。而总体上,抗坏血酸和海藻糖对面团拉伸性能的作用主要是增加其抗拉伸应力,但会使面团的拉伸时间显著缩短,本研究的结果为面制品生产中正确选择适当的食品添加剂及添加量提供了基础数据。     

美国食品添加剂的安全监管及其启示

食品添加剂在食品行业中占有重要地位,它的使用直接关系着食品的性能与安全,因而食品添加剂安全监管体制在整个社会法制体系中占有重要的地位。美国联邦食品、药品和化妆品法规定,只有经过美国食品药品监督管理局评价和公布的食品添加剂才能生产和在食品中使用。本文综述了美国食品添加剂的法律法规及监管体系。美国十分重视对食品添加剂的法律法规体系建设,并形成了严格、规范、有效的监管,其中有些经验对我国完善食品添加剂管理法规和监管体系具有重要的借鉴意义。     

食品色素的过去、现在和未来

食品色素是食品添加剂的重要组成部分 ,从古代的埃及开始在食物中添加色素到人工合成色素的出现。食品色素的发展已经有数个世纪。本文综述了食品色素的发展历史、发展现状以及未来的发展趋势     

Estimation of the dietary intake of 13 priority additives in France,Italy, the UK and Ireland as part of the FACET project

The aim of this study was to assess the dietary exposure of 13 priority additives in four European countries (France, Italy, the UK and Ireland) using the Flavourings, Additives and Contact Materials Exposure Task (FACET) software. The studied additives were benzoates (E210–213), nitrites (E249–250) and sulphites (E220–228), butylated hydroxytoluene (E321), polysorbates (E432–436), sucroses esters and sucroglycerides (E473–474), polyglycerol esters of fatty acids (E475), stearoyl-lactylates (E481–482), sorbitan esters (E493–494 and E491–495), phosphates (E338–343/E450–452), aspartame (E951) and acesulfame (E950). A conservative approach (based on individual consumption data combined with maximum permitted levels (Tier 2)) was compared with more refined estimates (using a fitted distribution of concentrations based on data provided by the food industry (Tier 3)). These calculations demonstrated that the estimated intake is below the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for nine of the studied additives. However, there was a potential theoretical exceedance of the ADI observed for four additives at Tier 3 for high consumers (97.5th percentile) among children: E220–228 in the UK and Ireland, E432–436 and E481–482 in Ireland, Italy and the UK, and E493–494 in all countries. The mean intake of E493–494 could potentially exceed the ADI for one age group of children (aged 1–4 years) in the UK. For adults, high consumers only in all countries had a potential intake higher than the ADI for E493–494 at Tier 3 (an additive mainly found in bakery wares). All other additives examined had an intake below the ADI. Further refined exposure assessments may be warranted to provide a more in-depth investigation for those additives that exceeded the ADIs in this paper. This refinement may be undertaken by the introduction of additive occurrence data, which take into account the actual presence of these additives in the different food groups.     

Estimates of dietary exposure of children to artificial food colours in Kuwait

To assess the intake of artificial food colour additives by 5-14-year-old children in the State of Kuwait, a 24-h dietary recall was conducted twice on 3141 male and female Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti children from 58 schools. The determination of colour additives in 344 foods items consumed was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector. A comparison with the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) was undertaken to evaluate the potential risk associated with the consumption of artificial colour additives by children in Kuwait. The results indicated that out of nine permitted colours, four exceeded their ADIs by factors of 2-8: tartrazine, sunset yellow, carmoisine and allura red. Further, follow-up studies to provide insight into potential adverse health effects associated with the high intakes of these artificial colour additives on the test population are warranted.     

Metal contaminants in various food colours.

Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, nickel and zinc have been estimated in 18 permitted and 18 non-permitted food colours. Arsenic, chromium, copper and lead were found to be within the maximum allowable international limits in all the permitted colours, but they were in excess in a number of non-permitted colours. There is a case for establishing the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) of cadmium, cobalt, manganese, nickel and zinc in food colours.     

Dietary exposure assessment of synthetic food colours using analytical concentrations in Korea

ABSTRACT

The safety of nine synthetic colour additives approved in Korea were assessed through hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure assessment, and risk characterisation. Hazard identification and characterisation were conducted using new risk information based on toxicology data. Exposure assessment calculated the estimated daily intake (EDI) of the nine colours. Finally, the risk was evaluated by comparing the EDIs of the colours with the acceptable daily intake (ADI). 1,114 samples (24 food categories) among a total of 1,454 samples contained colour additives either at a level that was not detectable or up to a quantified maximum of 288 mg kg^?1. The likelihood of risk of exposure to all food colours, evaluated by comparing the EDI with the ADI, was less than 0.52% of the ADI for the general population. These results indicate that use of synthetic food colour in Korea is safe and does not result in excessive exposure to any population group.     

食品中色素检测的研究进展

文章详细介绍了食用色素和违禁染料的定义、分类、特点,以及国内外对于色素类检测技术的研究现状,提出了未来色素类检测技术的重点、难点和发展趋势。