E for Additives. Maurice Hanssen
| Typical Products | Edible fats and oils to restore colour lost in processing |
| Savoury rice | |
| Flour confectionery | |
| Curry powders | |
| Margarine | |
| Processed cheese | |
| Butter | |
| Ice cream | |
| Fish cakes and fish fingers | |
| Chicken pies |
| E101 | Riboflavin (Lactoflavin; Vitamin B2) |
| Source | Occurs naturally in liver, kidneys, green vegetables, malted barley, eggs and milk, and a small amount is synthesized by bacteria in the large intestine. Manufactured from yeast or other fermenting organisms, such as Ashbya gossypii or Eremothecium ashbyii, or more often by synthesis starting with O-xylene, D-ribose or alloxan. |
| Function | Yellow or orange-yellow colour; vitamin B2. Has poor solubility, so is difficult to incorporate into many liquid foods, and is also sensitive to light. |
| Effects | Little riboflavin is stored in the body; excess of requirements is excreted in the urine No toxicological problems even with intakes far exceeding the nutritionally required levels. There is a suggestion that riboflavin in the diet may prevent the reduction of azo dyes (see glossary) by intestinal bacteria. |
| A.D.I. | 0–0.5mg/kg body weight. The levels in foods intended for babies and young children are limited to the amounts used as a vitamin supplement. |
| Typical Products | Sauces |
| Processed cheese | |
| Pickled cucumbers | |
| Vitamin enrichment | |
| Milk products, condensed or dried | |
| Foods described on the label directly or by implication as being specially prepared for babies or young children limited to amounts permitted in vitamin supplements as a medicine. |
| 101(a) | Riboflavin-5’-phosphate (Riboflavin-5’-[Sodium phosphate]) |
| Source | Prepared by chemical action on riboflavin (E101). Riboflavin-5’-phosphate consists mainly of the monosodium salt of the 5’-monophosphate ester of riboflavin dihydrate. |
| Function | Yellow or orange-yellow colour, vitamin B2—a more soluble form of riboflavin, but also more expensive |
| Effects | The phosphate is rapidly hydrolysed after ingestion to yield riboflavin. Riboflavin and riboflavin-5’-phosphate are in metabolic equilibrium after absorption. There are no toxicological problems with riboflavin even when taken in amounts far exceeding the nutritionally required levels or any likely food use. |
| A.D.I. | 0–0.5mg/kg body weight (temporary). |
| Typical Products | The levels in foods intended for babies and young children are limited to the amounts used as a vitamin supplement. |
| Various sugar products jams Milk products, condensed or dried | |
| Under consideration by the EEC for an ‘E’ prefix. |
| E102 | Tartrazine (C.I. 19140: FD and C Yellow 5) |
| Source | Synthetic, an azo dye (see glossary). |
| Function | Yellow colour. |
| Effects | Tartrazine appears to be the most reactive of all the azo dyes. In a double-blind crossover placebo-controlled trial with 76 selected overactive children, tartrazine and benzoic acid (E210) provoked a response in 79 per cent of those tested but no child reacted to either substance individually. In a study of 88 children with severe frequent migraine headaches tartrazine caused symptoms in 12 of them. Tartrazine provokes a response in some adult asthmatics, particularly those sensitive to aspirin, although aspirin-intolerant people are not necessarily intolerant to tartrazine. It also makes the condition worse in between 10 and 40 per cent of patients with chronic urticaria (nettle rash), and possibly intensifies the reactions of a higher proportion still of aspirin-sensitive individuals. However, the 1987 Food Advisory Committee’s report on the Colouring Matter in Food Regulations states that placebo-controlled provocation studies are shedding doubt on the aspirin/tartrazine association and the matter is as yet unresolved. The Hyperactive Children’s Support Group recommends that this colour, among others, be eliminated from the diets of the children it represents. Other adverse reactions in susceptible people include itching, rhinitis (runny nose), blurred vision, and purple patches on the skin, and it has been suggested that tartrazine in fruit flavour cordials may be responsible for wakefulness in small children at night. There appears to be no clear scientific explanation of how tartrazine causes a response in sensitive individuals. Some reactions, because they happen quickly on low doses, suggest an allergy. Tartrazine has been shown to raise the plasma histamine levels of normal healthy adults when large doses of more than 50mg are given. Skin tests with tartrazine, however, often fail to produce a reaction, so it may mean that a breakdown product of tartrazine is responsible. An accurate assessment of tartrazine sensitivity in the general population can be only a guess. One source (BIBRA) supposes that 0.06–0.24 per cent of the population as a whole might be sensitive to tartrazine. This would represent between 34,000 and 134,000 people in the UK. Survey work undertaken on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food suggests that intolerance to all food additives is something approaching 0.4 per cent (or 222,000) of the population. |
| A.D.I. | 0–7.5mg/kg body weight. |