Estimation of theoretical intake of synthetic food colours Azorubine, Erythrosine, Indigotine, and Ponceau 4R by the Brazilian population

Abstract

There are very few studies evaluating the exposure of the general population to food colours. This study aimed to estimate the Theoretical Maximum Daily Intake (TMDI) by the Brazilian population of four rather seldom-used synthetic food colours: Azorubine, Erythrosine, Indigotine, and Ponceau 4R. The study was conducted using data from the two most recent National Household Budget Surveys (carried out in 2008/2009 and 2017/2018). The study covered the country’s population, sorted into the following groups: gender, geographic region, and age (among people older than 10 years). The results show that the mean TMDI (mg/day) does not exceed the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) in any population group for any of the food colours. The highest values found were 12.5% of the ADI for Erythrosine in 2008/2009 and 4% in 2017/2018. A decrease in the mean TMDI was observed for all food colours comparing 2008/2009 and 2017/2018. Intake increases with decreasing age, adolescents being the group with the highest mean TMDI. When considering the prevalence of food consumption instead of the mean consumption, TMDI gets closer to the ADI, reaching 79% of the ADI of Erythrosine for adolescent females. The intake of these food colours proved to be within the recommended levels.