Dataset of certified food dye levels in over the counter medicines and vitamins intended for consumption by children and pregnant women

Arlie L Lehmkuhler; Mark D Miller; Asa Bradman; Rosemary Castorina; Alyson E Mitchell

doi:10.1016/j.dib.2020.106073

Dataset of certified food dye levels in over the counter medicines and vitamins intended for consumption by children and pregnant women

Data Brief. 2020 Jul 31:32:106073. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2020.106073. eCollection 2020 Oct.

Authors

Arlie L Lehmkuhler¹, Mark D Miller², Asa Bradman³, Rosemary Castorina³, Alyson E Mitchell¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Science & Technology, University of California-Davis, 1 Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
² Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento, CA, USA.
³ Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health (CERCH), School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.

Abstract

Food, Drug, & Cosmetic (FD&C) dyes can be found in various products outside of food that are consumed by children. The amount of FD&C dyes used in commercial products is proprietary. Determining the contribution of dye intake from commercial products requires direct assessment of FD&C dyes in the products. This dataset contains the raw data of HPLC peak areas, absolute values, averages, SDs and % RSD for FD&C dyes in children's gummy vitamins, children's tablet vitamins, prenatal vitamins, children's cough/cold/allergy tablets & syrups, and children's pain reliever tablets & syrups obtained using high performance liquid chromatography with a photometric diode array detector (HPLC-PDA). The data can be used for further interpretations of dye intake in children, based upon dose levels suggested for distinct age groups, to evaluate the consumption of the FD&C dyes and accepted daily intake (ADIs) suggested for each FD&C dye by the United States Food & Drug Administration (US FDA). The variability associated within each category is critical for understanding how products on the market can differ between lot especially with large gaps between expiration dates. The interpretation of the data is described in "Certified Food Dyes in Over the Counter Medicines and Supplements Marketed for Children and Pregnant Women" in the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology [1].

Keywords: FD&C dyes; High performance liquid chromatography; Over the counter medications; Vitamins.