E127 - Erythrosine
Written by Chris Andrews on Thursday, February 8th, 2007 in Colours.
Another can of fruit, another artifical colouring… why? This time it’s a tin of chunky fruit salad from Tesco. Not one of my usual food choices but I thought I’d try it. The list of ingredients goes well until we get to “Erythrosine”. Why a tin of fruit needs to be coloured I’ll never know?!
Unlike the last colouring, this one has a list of health issues (which I haven’t found proper references for) that include:
- Causing photosensitivity
- It may be carcinogenic
- Possible a xenoestrogen (whatever that is)
- Has been associated with other colours that be responisible for ADHD
What it is, is a bright red synthetic coal tar dye. You’ll find it in tinned cherries (like in this fruit salad) and also biscuits and some cooked meats. If you ever chewed one of those red pills from a dentist that shows where the plaque is on your teeth then you’ll almost certainly have taken it.