Food Colourings — Complete E-Number Guide
Food Colourings are food additives (E100–E199) that add or restore colour to foods and drinks. They are found in many everyday foods including sweets, soft drinks, desserts, ice cream, sauces and snacks. This guide covers every food colouring E-number with its safety, vegan and halal status at a glance.
| E-Number | Name | Safety | Vegan | Halal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E100 | Curcumin | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E101 | Riboflavin | Safe | Uncertain | Doubtful |
| E102 | Tartrazine | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E104 | Quinoline Yellow | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E110 | Sunset Yellow FCF | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E120 | Carmine | Some Concerns | No | Haram |
| E122 | Carmoisine | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E123 | Amaranth | Banned/Restricted | Yes | Halal |
| E124 | Ponceau 4R | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E127 | Erythrosine | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E129 | Allura Red AC | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E131 | Patent Blue V | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E132 | Indigo Carmine | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E133 | Brilliant Blue FCF | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E140 | Chlorophylls | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E141 | Copper Complexes of Chlorophylls | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E142 | Green S | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E151 | Brilliant Black BN | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E153 | Vegetable Carbon | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E155 | Brown HT | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E162 | Beetroot Red | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E163 | Anthocyanins | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E170 | Calcium Carbonate | Safe | Uncertain | Doubtful |
| E171 | Titanium Dioxide | Banned/Restricted | Yes | Halal |
| E172 | Iron Oxides and Hydroxides | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E173 | Aluminium | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E174 | Silver | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E175 | Gold | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E180 | Litholrubine BK | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E150a | Plain Caramel | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E150b | Caustic Sulphite Caramel | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E150c | Ammonia Caramel | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E150d | Sulphite Ammonia Caramel | Some Concerns | Yes | Halal |
| E160a | Carotenes | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E160b | Annatto | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E160c | Paprika Extract | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E160d | Lycopene | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E160e | Beta-apo-8'-carotenal | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E161b | Lutein | Safe | Yes | Halal |
| E161g | Canthaxanthin | Some Concerns | Uncertain | Doubtful |
What do food colourings do?
Additives in the food colourings group add or restore colour to foods and drinks. Without them, many everyday products would spoil faster, separate, lose texture or look unappetising — which is why they appear in so many ingredients lists. Every additive in this table has been through EFSA's authorisation process, but as the safety column shows, "authorised" doesn't always mean "concern-free": some carry conditions, warnings or ongoing debates, and each entry links to a full breakdown.
Checking labels for food colourings
On UK and EU labels these additives appear with their function and E-number or name — for example "food colouring: E100". Tap any E-number in the table for its complete profile: what it is, where it's found, whether it's safe, and its vegan, vegetarian, halal and palm-oil status.
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Additive data sourced from Open Food Facts (ODbL licence) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).