Detection of 4-aminocarminic acid in beverages and cake glaze from the German market: a food additive not approved in the EU

In the European Union, carminic acid and its ammonium, calcium, potassium or sodium salts and its aluminium lakes are approved as food additive E120. In beverages obtained from the German market 4-aminocarminic acid (“acid-stable carmine”) was detected by HPLC–PDA and LC–MS/MS. Isolation of the colorant from a liquid dye preparation used for the production of a beverage sample and subsequent NMR analysis confirmed the presence of 4-aminocarminic acid. Synthesis of ¹⁵N-4-aminocarminic acid clearly demonstrated that “acid-stable carmine” is not the ammonium salt of carminic acid, which is approved as food additive in the European Union. In fact, nitrogen in “acid-stable carmine” is covalently bound. The molecular structure of carminic acid is chemically modified and 4-aminocarminic acid does not comply with the specifications laid down for E120 in Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012. 4-Aminocarminic acid was also detected in the red-colored glaze of a raspberry cake and in the liquid dye preparation used for coloring this glaze.