Table 6 Summary of full-text articles which reported misuse of food additives as a public risk in food marketing

Dixit S, et al., 2011 [57]

India

Research article

This study assessed usage pattern of synthetic food colors in different states of India. The results revealed that the majority of candyfloss, sugar toys, beverages, mouth fresheners, ice candy, and bakery product samples exceeded the prescribed limit. Non-permitted colors were mostly prevalent in candyfloss and sugar toy samples. Though sunset yellow FCF (SSYFCF) and tartrazine were the two most popular colors, many samples used a blend of two or more colors. The blend of SSYFCF and tartrazine exceeded the prescribed limit by a factor of 37 in one sample.

Tripathi M, et al., 2007 [58]

India

Research article

This study assessed use of synthetic colors in India. The study reported that 31% samples contained non-permitted colors. In urban areas, samples of crushed ice which are preferentially consumed by children population, the presence of Sunset Yellow FCF and Tartrazine was found to exceed the permissible limit by 8 and 20 times while in rural areas, Sunset Yellow FCF, Tartrazine, and Carmoisine exceeded the permissible limit by 23, 16, and 15 times, respectively. Non-permitted colors such as rhodamine B, metanil yellow, orange II, malachite green, auramine, quinoline yellow, amaranth, and Sudan dyes were identified in various foodstuffs.

Stevens LJ, et al., 2014 [59]

USA

Research article

This study assessed amounts of artificial food colors in commonly consumed beverages in the USA. The findings showed that most sweetened and artificially sweetened carbonated beverages, fruit drinks and punches, sports drinks, and energy drinks are dyed with either caramel color or artificial colors in widely varying amounts. Beverages (liquid and powdered) contained a wide range of concentrations of artificial food colors from 1.2 to 48 mg/240 ml.

Rao P, et al., 2004 [60]

India

Research article

This study assessed exposure to synthetic food colors of a selected population in Hyderabad, India. The study reported that children had an intake of solid food consumption in the range 2–465 g day^–1 and liquid food consumption in the range 25–840 ml day^–1 with added colors. Among the eight permitted colors in India, six were consumed by the subjects of the study. The intakes of some subjects exceeded the acceptable daily intake for colors such as tartrazine, sunset yellow, and erythrosine, which is 7.5, 2.5, and 0.1 mg kg^–1 body weight, respectively.

Ashfaq N and Masud T, 2002 [61]

Pakistan

Research article

This study assessed artificial colors in different ready-to-eat foods in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The results showed that quantities of the permitted coloring matter among the tested samples were found within the range of 18–220 ppm and 47.56% of the samples contained non-permitted food colors.

Jonnalagadda PR, et al., 2004 [62]

India

Research article

This study assessed type, extent, and use of colors in ready-to-eat (RTE) in Hyderabad, India. The results showed that 90% of the samples contained permitted colors, 2% contained a combination of permitted and non-permitted colors, and 8% contained only non-permitted colors. However, in RTE foods with permitted colors, 73% exceeded 100 ppm. Among the permitted colors, tartrazine was the most widely used color followed by sunset yellow. The maximum concentration of colors was detected in sweet meats (18 767 ppm), non-alcoholic beverages (9450 ppm), miscellaneous foods (6106 ppm), and hard-boiled sugar confectioneries (3811 ppm). Among the non-permitted colors found, rhodamine was most commonly used.

Tsai C-F, et al., 2015 [63]

Taiwan

Research article

This study determined synthetic dyes in chili powders and syrup-preserved fruits purchased from retail establishments in Taipei City, Taiwan. The results showed that three legal food dyes, tartrazine, and/or sunset yellow FCF, and/or new coccine, are present in some syrup-preserved fruits. Amaranth, an illegal food dye is found in an imported syrup-preserved fruit.

Moradi-Khatoonabadi Z, et al., 2015 [64]

Iran

Research article

This study assessed synthetic food colors in foods from restaurants in Tehran, Iran. Of the total 573 samples, 52% were positive for at least one color. The most prevalent colors were tartrazine, quinoline yellow, and sunset yellow, with 44%, 9.1%, and 8.4% of the samples testing positive for these colors, respectively. Carmoisine and ponceau were both detected only in 0.5% of the positive samples and found only in saffron solution.

Saleem N and Umar ZN, 2013 [65]

Pakistan

Research article

This study assessed the type of food colors added to various food products especially those vended at or near different educational institutes of Karachi City, Pakistan. The results revealed that some foods manufactured locally contained non-permitted colors. About 11% branded and 44% unbranded food items, respectively, were found with not permitted colors for human consumption. Similarly, 4% branded and 30% unbranded beverages were found unfit due to the presence of prohibited colors.

Petigara Harp B, et al., 2013 [66]

USA

Research article

This survey assessed color additives in food products purchased from retail stores in Washington, DC, and surrounding Maryland counties. A survey of 44 food products, including beverages, frozen treats, powder mixes, gelatin products, candies, icings, jellies, spices, dressings, sauces, baked goods, and dairy products, found total color additives ranging from 1.9 to 1221 mg/kg.

Sood M, 2014 [67]

Indonesia

Field inspection

This field inspection on imported processed food products in Indonesia found processing food products that are not in accordance with the provisions. Some processing food products contain harmful substances such as formaldehyde, rhodamine B, saccharin, benzoic acid, methanol, yellow, and cyclamate, and preservatives and other harmful dyes.