Identification of Tartrazine adulteration and evaluating exposure to synthetic dyes of sunset yellow and Quinoline yellow through consumption of food products among children

Hannaneh Rahnama; Seyed Mohammad Mazloomi; Enayat Berizi; Azam Abbasi; Zahra Gholami

doi:10.1002/fsn3.2975

Identification of Tartrazine adulteration and evaluating exposure to synthetic dyes of sunset yellow and Quinoline yellow through consumption of food products among children

Food Sci Nutr. 2022 Jul 30;10(11):3781-3788. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.2975. eCollection 2022 Nov.

Authors

Hannaneh Rahnama¹, Seyed Mohammad Mazloomi¹, Enayat Berizi¹, Azam Abbasi¹, Zahra Gholami²

Affiliations

¹ Nutrition Research Center, Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences Shiraz University of Medical Sciences Shiraz Iran.
² Food Control Laboratory, Department of Food and Drug Shiraz University of Medical Science Shiraz Iran.

Abstract

Excessive consumption of synthetic food dyes by children may raise concerns about their health. These dyes may aggravate the hyperactivity symptoms and exacerbate asthma in sensitive children. The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of sunset yellow and quinoline yellow dyes, as well as tartrazine in dairy-free fruit ice cream, freeze pop, jelly, and candy. Additionally, we evaluated the amount of two food dyes consumed by children. To do so, a total of 150 food samples, including 20 dairy-free fruit ice creams, 25 freeze pops, 57 jelly products, and 48 types of candy were randomly selected from stores in Shiraz, Iran. Then, using the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method and an ultraviolet (UV) detector, we measured the amounts of sunset yellow and quinoline yellow dyes and identified the use of tartrazine. Also, the per capita consumption (grams per day) of the mentioned foods was calculated using a checklist in two groups of male and female primary schoolchildren aged 6-9 years and 10-13 years in Shiraz, Iran. According to the results, 11 (7.33%) samples contained only tartrazine and 107 (71.33%) samples contained quinoline yellow and sunset yellow synthetic dyes. In addition, of 107 samples that used quinoline yellow and sunset yellow, 102 (95.33%) contained unauthorized tartrazine. Only seven (6.54%) samples contained exceedingly high concentrations of authorized quinoline yellow and sunset yellow synthetic dyes. However, the exposure assessment showed that the intake of quinoline yellow and sunset yellow was at average levels and the 95th percentile in both age groups was less than the associated acceptable daily intake (ADI). For synthetic dyes, the target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) were less than one, indicating that ingestion of these two dyes via food products does not pose a risk to children's overall health.

Keywords: quinoline yellow; sunset yellow; synthetic dye; tartrazine adulteration.