E129 - Allura Red AC
Written by Chris Andrews on Monday, January 8th, 2007 in Preservatives, Colours.
Every time I’ve sat down to eat a tin of Tesco Strawberries I’ve looked at the label and seen Allura Red AC on the list of ingredients. Naturally I’ve assumed that it isn’t an E Number. A quick search proves this assumpion wrong.
Allura Red AC has the numer E129 which makes in a colour (obvious, I guess) and is known in the US as FD&C Red 40. It has the approval to be used in food, cosmetics and drugs and is generally seen to be safe. Some comparisons have been made to the recently banned Sudan 1, but apart from a few cached pages in google I can’t find a firm place to confirm this.