Food colors are essentials. They help correct the actual colors of the product and minimize any color changes that may happen during processing and storage. But they are more than that. They help increase the perceived color, making the food more attractive, appealing, and appetizing. Food colors come in two main types: artificial and natural food color. Natural food colors are obtained mainly from plant and animal sources. Artificial colors, on the other hand, are created in laboratories, to put it simply. In the food manufacturing industry, synthetic coloring agents are increasing in use over natural colors. They are generally cheaper, give more intense color, uniformity, and color stability even when exposed to heat and light. One common artificial color is sunset yellow.
In the United States, sunset yellow is also called FD & C yellow 6. Its denoted with E number of E110 in Europe. Sunset yellow comes in powder or granules, and is bright orange-red in color. Sunset yellow is water-soluble. It is extremely heat stability, up to 401 °F (205 °C), and has moderate compatibility with other food ingredients. It fades considerably in sulfur dioxide and 1% ascorbic acid, whereas it fades slightly in alkaline media. Research also showed that the presence of Ca ions leads to precipitation of this food color.
Sunset yellow gives an orange color to a wide range of food products, drugs, and cosmetics. It is specifically added to baked products, sauces, beverages, snacks, and candies. M & M candies, and doritos contain this food color. Sunset yellow is one of those synthetic food colors that blend easily with others to create different hues. In chocolate manufacturing, sunset yellow is often used with amarath (E123) to produce brown color.
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PRODUCTION METHOD
Industrial-scale production of sunset yellow color started in the 1920s. An azio dye, it is produced via diazo coupling reaction, wherein electrophilic aromatic substitution of activated benzene derivatives occurs. Products of this reaction include aromatic azo compounds used as dyes. The colors of these products vary— ranges from red to deep blue colors.
The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) identified one common way of producing sunset yellow. In this manner, hydrochloric acid and sodium nitrite or sulfuric acid and sodium nitrite diazotize 4-amino benzenesulfonic acid. After which, the compound is then coupled with 6-hydroxy-2-napthalene-sulfonic acid. The product is then isolated as disodium salt and dried. It also comes in potassium and calcium salt.
2 other methods of producing sunset yellow include coupling diazotized sulfanilic acid with 2-naphthol-6-sulfonic acid, and coupling sulphanilic acid with Schaeffer’s acid.
IS SUNSET YELLOW SAFE?
Hyperactivity
Sunset yellow is one of the most common synthetic food colors. Hence, it is one of the most studied in terms of safety. Like most food additives, sunset yellow is concerned because of its possible health effects. Perhaps, the biggest concern is the claims of hyperactivity in children.
A 2007 British study led by Jim Stevenson from Southampton University looked into this. The European Food Standards Agency (EFSA)-funded research involved 153 3 year-old kids and 144 8-year old kids from Southampton. For six weeks, these children were given a drink each day, which made up of two mixtures. The samples looked and tasted identical.
The test included the food colors: sunset yellow (E110), carmoisine (E122), tartrazine (E102), ponceau 4R (E124), and the preservative sodium benzoate (E211).
The result of the study revealed that there maybe is a connection between the consumption of foods that contained these food colors and preservatives and the increased hyperactivity in children. If your child is hyperactive, experts advise to remove foods that contain them from the diet. However, it is worth noting that doing so does necessarily not lead to improve behavior. Hyperactivity is caused by other factors such as genetics.
In 2009, the Food Standards Agency called for the mentioned food additives to be removed from food products. Furthermore, since2010, food manufacturers are required that their products to include a label that states: “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children”. However, countries outside the EU have not generally followed this labelling requirement.
REGULATORY BODIES
When used as a food ingredient, specifications and limits shall be met.
Following the Southampton study on food colors, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not made any specification limits on the use of sunset yellow. However, in 2008, the Center for Science in the public interest filed a petition to ban the food colors in food. The agency has currently set the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for the use of sunset yellow at 3.75 mg/kg.
Back in 2009, EFSA set a temporary ADI for sunset yellow at 1 mg/kg, and recommended further tests. Then in 2014, EFSA revealed that the current industry uses for the food color are not a food safety concern. And that that the exposure estimates are well below the new ADI across all age groups—the panel raised the ADI from 1 mg/kg to 4 mg/kg.
The World Health Organization’s Codex Alimentarius has set the maximum limit for sunset yellow according to food category. Here are some:
| Food Category | Maximum limit (in mg/kg) |
| Confectionery items | 300 |
| Breakfast cereals | 300 |
| Jams, jellies, marmalades | 300 |
| Alcoholic beverages | 200 |
| Chocolate products | 400 |
| Fermented vegetables | 200 |
| Sauces, seasoning, and condiments | 300 |
| Cured and comminuted meat products | 135 |
| Water-based flavored drinks | 100 |
Other references:
Gabriela Steier, Kiran K. Patel (2017). International Food Law and Policy. Springer
V. Vaclavik and E. Christian (2014). Essentials of Food Science (4th edition). Springer
deMan, J. Finley, W. Jeffrey Hurst, Chang Yong Lee (2018). Principles of Food Chemistry (4th edition). Springer.
