TARTRAZINE INTOLERANCE AND OTHER ARTIFICIAL COLOR INTOLERANCE
Color is one of the most important aspects of food presentation. Unless foods are the right color, they are unacceptable to many people. As a result, manufacturers add colors to foods to enhance their market appeal and consumption. This means that we are eating many different chemicals that would probably never enter our bodies, except as additives to manufactured foods. Most of these chemicals do not result in any harmful effects, but some people do react adversely to them. This chapter provides information for those people who are sensitive to the chemicals used for coloring our foods. It also gives details of a diet that such people can follow to avoid all artificial food coloring agents and still obtain complete balanced nutrition from their food.
In addition to artificial colors, many manufacturers use colors derived from natural sources, for example:
♦ Saffron and turmeric as a source of yellow
♦ Beetroot as a red color
♦ Caramel from burned sugar as a brown color
♦ Titanium oxide as a white color
♦ Silver, gold, and aluminum as their natural colors
♦ Chlorophyll from green vegetables as a green color
Colors derived from natural sources are not included in this discussion of causes of food intolerance. Certain sensitive people may experience an allergic reaction to the source of the natural color, for example, an allergic reaction to the plant from which the color was derived. This is then treated as an allergy, details of which can be found in Part I of this book.
ARTIFICIAL FOOD DYES
Tartrazine
Most of the colors listed in Table Use of artificial colors in commercial food products are considered “safe” (Generally Regarded as Safe, or GRAS, designation) by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and have not been cited as a cause of adverse reactions. However, tartrazine and some other azo (nitrogen-containing) dyes have been implicated in adverse reactions. As a result, regulations in the United States require that tartrazine added to foods or medications should be listed separately on the product label. In Canada, at present, this listing is voluntary.
Food manufacturers are not required to give the chemical names or common names of the individual artificial colors used in a food product, except for tartrazine in the United States. As a result, colors usually appear on labels as “artificial color” or simply as “color.”
Conditions Caused by Tartrazine in Sensitive People
Tartrazine (FD&C #5) can cause symptoms resembling an allergic reaction. Tartrazine-sensitive asthmatics tend to experience triggering or worsening of asthma. Hives, itching, nasal congestion and runny nose, blurred vision, purple patches on the skin, and migraine headaches have all been reported as symptoms of tartrazine sensitivity. However, only a few double-blind placebo- controlled trials have indicated that tartrazine is a direct cause of these symptoms.
Tartrazine has been demonstrated to cause a rise in plasma histamine levels even in normal healthy adults when they consume more than 50 milligrams of the dye. Histamine-sensitive individuals react at much lower levels of tartrazine. The mechanism for the release of histamine by tartrazine has yet to be discovered. There is no evidence that an immunologically mediated allergic reaction is involved in this process.
Some people who are sensitive to acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) also experience an adverse reaction to tartrazine. It is unclear whether dietary salicylates, which are naturally present in a large number of foods (primarily fruits and vegetables), also are involved in this cross-reactivity. Other azo (nitrogen-containing) dyes have also been implicated in adverse reactions.
How Tartrazine Affects the Body
Evidence indicates that tartrazine may initiate the release of histamine from mast cells. Because tartrazine-induced symptoms are similar to those induced by acetyl-salicylic acid, tartrazine may inhibit the cyclo-oxygenase pathway for converting arachidonic acid to prostanoids. However, this mechanism of action has not been proven.
Table Use of artificial colors in commercial food products
| Color Name | Examples of Foods Containing the Color |
| Tartrazine
(Prohibited in Norway and Austria) |
Fruit squash and cordials; colored fizzy drinks
Instant puddings Packet convenience foods Cake mixes Soups (packets and cans) Bottled sauces Pickles Commercial salad dressings Ice creams and sherbets Candies Chewing gum Jams and jellies Smoked fish Jello Mustard Yogurt |
| Sunset Yellow
(Prohibited in Norway and Finland) |
Especially useful for fermented foods that must
be heat-treated: Hot chocolate mix Packet soups Candies Yogurts Commercial bread crumbs Cheese sauce mixes Jams and marmalades Canned shrimps and prawns Pickled cucumbers (dill pickles) |
| Erythrosine
(Prohibited in Norway and the USA) |
Glace cherries
Canned red cherries, strawberries, and rhubarb Scotch eggs Packet dessert mixes Stuffed olives Chocolates Dressed crab Salmon spread and pate Garlic sausage Luncheon meat Danish salami |
| Ponceau
(Prohibited in Norway and the USA) |
Packet soups
Seafood dressings Cake mixes Desert toppings Canned strawberries Canned cherry, raspberry, and red-currant pie fillings Quick-setting jelly mixes (“Jello”) Salami |
| Allura Red
(Prohibited in Austria, Norway, Sweden, Japan, Finland) |
Allura Red and Amaranth are used in similar
products, such as Packet soups Packet cake mixes |
| Amaranth
(Prohibited in Norway and the USA; in France and Italy it can be used only in caviar) |
Gravy mixes
Canned pie fillings “Jello” style jelly mixes Jams and jellies Canned apple sauce Canned shrimps and prawns Canned pears Liquid vitamin C preparations |
| Indigotine
(Prohibited in Norway) |
Cookies
Candies Savory convenience food mixes |
| Brilliant Blue
(Prohibited in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden) |
Canned processed peas |
Symptoms of Tartrazine Sensitivity
Symptoms reported to be caused or made worse by tartrazine and other azo dyes are
♦ Asthma
♦ Urticaria (hives)
♦ Nausea
♦ Migraine headaches
♦ Allergic vasculitis (purpura)
♦ Hyperkinesis (hyperactivity disorder)
♦ Contact dermatitis
At present, there are no double-blind placebo-controlled trials proving that any of these conditions are caused by tartrazine.
Tartrazine in Foods
Although tartrazine is yellow, it is also used to produce other colors such as orange, turquoise, green, maroon, and brown, so it is not enough to avoid only yellow-colored foods.
Tartrazine-sensitive persons need to avoid
♦ Any food or medication listing tartrazine as an additive.
♦ Any food described as containing color or artificial color unless it is specifically labeled tartrazine-free. This is particularly important for medications.
♦ A food or medication with “tartrazine-free” on the label is safe for a person who is sensitive to tartrazine, but it is no guarantee that the product does not contain other food dyes.
Tartrazine in Medications, Supplements, and Other Items
Tartrazine is in some medications (both prescription and nonprescription) and in some vitamin and mineral supplements. Essential medications should be tartrazine-free. Pharmacies keep a list of manufacturers who produce tartrazine-free products. Some toiletries and cosmetics containing colors may cause contact dermatitis.
Diet Restricted in Tartrazine and Other Food-Coloring Agents
The eating plan in is designed to eliminate tartrazine and other food dyes from the diet and medications. Labeling tartrazine by name, rather than as merely “color,” is mandatory in the United States, but is voluntary in Canada, which means that in Canada, people who are sensitive only to tartrazine must also avoid all commercial foods that have “color” or “artificial color” on the label.
Table Diet free fromtartrazine and other artificial food coloring agents
| Type of Food | Foods Allowed | Foods Restricted |
| Milk and Milk Products | • Plain milk, buttermilk, cream,
sour cream, and yogurt • All plain uncolored cream cheese, cheddar, mozzarella • Parmesan • Quark • Additive-free ice cream • Butter |
• Chocolate-flavored milk
• Milkshakes • Flavored yogurt • Commercially prepared - Cheese foods “Cheese slices -Dips - Spreads • Frozen ice cream, sherbet, yogurt, ice milk, dairy treats with color added |
| Breads and Cereals | • Any pure flour or grain
• Any prepared, additive-free, plain bread, buns, biscuits, pizza dough with allowed ingredients • Bread machines are useful in making additive-free bread products. • Homemade or purchased baked cookies, pies, etc. made without additives |
• Commercial products made
with food coloring • Commercial icings and frostings • Most commercial baked goods • Baking mixes |
| • Breakfast cereals without
color added, such as -Homemade granola -Oats and oatmeal - Plain oat bran - Plain Cream of Wheat - Puffed wheat - Puffed rice - Red River Cereal -Shredded Wheat -Shreddies - Some corn flakes • All plain grains and their flakes |
• Commercial breakfast cereals
with added color • Flavored instant oatmeal • Flavored instant Cream of Wheat |
|
| • Crackers without color
added such as -Grissol Melba Toast - RyVita Rye Krisp -Wasa, Light or Golden Crackers - Homemade crackers |
• Crackers with color or flavor
added |
|
| • Plain pasta
• All homemade crackers, cereals, and pasta dishes without food colors • Plain and wild rice • General Foods Minute Rice |
• Read all labels carefully
on all packaged pasta • Colored pasta • Macaroni and cheese dinners • Pasta or rice dinners with color or flavor packets |
|
| Vegetables | • All pure fresh and frozen
vegetables and juices |
• Vegetable cocktails such as V8
• Vegetables in sauces and/or seasoning packets • Most pasta sauces unless additive-free • Prepared salads with commercial dressing |
| Fruits | • All pure fresh, frozen, or
canned fruit • Pure frozen and canned juices • Fruit dishes made without added colors |
• Fruit cocktail with maraschino
cherries • Maraschino cherries • Prepared fruit drinks, other drinks, and cocktails, with any additives • Fruit Rollups • Fruit-flavored gelatin such as Jell-O • Fruit dishes and preserves with color |
| Meat, Poultry, and Fish | • All pure fresh, frozen, or
canned meat, poultry, or fish • Processed meat made without added color |
• Commercially prepared with
added color: -Fish pastes, fish roe -Imitation crab -Smoked fish • Processed meats with added color • Commercial gravies and sauces |
| Eggs | •All | • All dishes prepared with ingredients with added color |
| Legumes | • All plain legumes
• Pure peanut butter without additives |
|
| Nuts and Seeds | • All plain nuts and seeds | • All with added color |
| Fats and Oils | • Pure butter
• Cream • Shortening • Pure vegetable oils • Homemade salad dressings not made with “flavor packages’ • Lard and meat drippings • Homemade gravy |
• Margarine
• Commercially prepared salad dressings with added color • Commercial sauces and gravies |
| Spices and Herbs | • All pure fresh, frozen, or dried
herbs and spices • Seasoning salts including turmeric, paprika, and saffron |
• Flavor packets
• Flavoring extracts |
| Sweets and Sweeteners | • Sugar, honey, molasses
• Maple syrup, corn syrup • Icing sugar • Pure jams, jellies, marmalades, and conserves without added color • Plain artificial sweeteners • Homemade sweets without artificial color |
• Flavored syrups
• Prepared dessert fillings • Prepared icings • Spreads with restricted ingredients • Commercial candies • Cake decorations and other confectionery • Fruit Rollups • Fun Fruits • Fruit peel, citrus peel • Glace fruit |
| Other | • Baking powder
• Baking soda • Cream of Tartar • Pure white cider or wine vinegar • Baking chocolate • Pure cocoa • Plain gelatin • Homemade pickles, ketchup, and relishes without added color • Pure soy sauce without added color |
• Whipped toppings
• Topping mixes • All vinegars with “flavorings” • Chocolate candy • Cake sprinkles • Flavored gelatin • Commercial pickles, relishes, and olives • Some soy sauces • Commercial ketchup • Colored chewing gum • Snacks like Cheese Puffs |
| Beverages | • Plain milk and buttermilk
• Pure juices of fruits and vegetables • Plain and carbonated mineral water • Plain coffee and tea • Beer, wine, plain distilled alcoholic beverages |
• Flavored milks
• Fruit drinks, other drinks, and cocktails, with any additives • All other carbonated drinks and soft drinks • Liqueurs and coolers • Drink mixes or pre-mixed drinks • Fruit-flavored drink powders and concentrates • All drinks with “flavor,” “spices,” or “color” • Diet drinks and shakes • Meal-replacement drinks |
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