Usage pattern of synthetic food colours in different states of India and exposure assessment through commodities preferentially consumed by children

Exposure studies in children are emphasized nowadays given children's higher consumption vulnerability. The present study generated national-level data covering 16 major states of India on the usage pattern of colours and it identified food commodities through which a particular colour has the scope to exceed AD! limits. Out of the total analysed samples, 87.8% contained permitted colours, of which only 48% adhered to the prescribed limit of 100 mg kg(-1). The majority of candyfloss, sugar toys, beverages, mouth fresheners, ice candy and bakery product samples exceeded the prescribed limit. Non-permitted colours were mostly prevalent in candyfloss and sugar toy samples. Though sunset yellow FCF (SSYFCF) and tartrazine were the two most popular colours, many samples used a blend of two or more colours. The blend of SSYFCF and tartrazine exceeded the prescribed limit by a factor of 37 in one sample, and the median and 95th percentile levels of this blend were 4.5- and 25.7-fold, respectively. The exposure assessment showed that the intake of erythrosine exceeded the ADI limits by two to six times at average levels of detected colours, whereas at the 95th percentile level both SSYFCF and erythrosine exceeded the respective ADI limits by three- to 12-fold in all five age groups. Thus, the uniform prescribed limit of synthetic colours at 100 mg kg(-1) under Indian rules needs to be reviewed and should be governed by consumption profiles of the food commodities to check the unnecessary exposure of excessive colours to those vulnerable in the population that may pose a health risk.