What Is Carmoisine Colour?

The other names for carmoisine colour are Food Red 3, Azorubin S, Brilliantcarmoisin O, Acid Red 14, and many more. In European countries, it is also known as E number E122 or C.I. 14720. The E numbers are generally represented as synthetic food colors. It is generally used in food applications where food is heat-treated after fermentation.

Is carmoisine natural in its origin?

The answer is NO, carmoisine is synthetic in origin and generally derived from one source. For example, E122 is obtained from coal tar, which is a form of carmoisine colour. The ingredient for carmoisine colour may vary from country to country.

What is an Azo dye?

Azo dyes are organic compounds that are used in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, textile, and leather industries. Tartrazine and carmoisine are forms of organic azo dyes.

Can Carmoisine cause any harmful effects?

Anything in the world can cause harmful effects if consumed excessively. Carmoisine comes under synthetic colorants additive. Excessive consumption of synthetic colours can be harmful, especially for children.

What is the difference between Carmoisine and Carmine?

The shade of Carmoisine is very similiar to carmine. Carmine provides an extremely stable red colour and it is obtained from insects. The range of shade for carmine varies from magenta-red to violet-red. Carmine is an alkaline-treated liquid that can be used for various food applications.

Can carmoisine cause any harmful effects on your pets?

Carmoisine doesn’t affect your pets. It is recommended that you can feed up to 200mg/kg in dry matter/dry pet food. If it is above the prescribed value then it may cause issues to the skin, eye, or inhalation of your pets.

Not all E numbers are synthetic/artificial colours. Any ingredient or colour with an E number has been tested and approved for consumption in pet food.

Uses of Carmoisine

Carmoisine food colour is a red form of dye that contains NN and CC, chromophore groups. It is soluble in water and comes with a melting point of >300C. Hence makes it suitable for colouring cosmetics, medicines, and food applications.

Food Colouring using Carmoisine

Carmoisine is used for food applications that are heat-treated after fermentation. It gives a range of red to maroon colour to food applications. The food applications containing carmoisine require special labeling.

Does Carmoisine comes under Azo dye?

Yes, as mentioned carmoisine comes under Azo dyes. Other colors also come under Azo dyes like Allure red, Sunset yellow FCF, and Tartrazine. The chemical compound of azo dye is formed from two hydrocarbon groups that are joined by two nitrogen atoms. Hence the word azo is derived from the French words nitrogen and azote.

Are there any dangers of Carmoisine?

Carmoisine may cause cancer and tumors, according to animal studies. Excessive carmoisine in food products can cause skin irritations. In some cases, it may also cause negative effects on the respiratory system. Therefore, it must be heat-treated after fermentation in food applications. Thus carmoisine becomes the most favorable for red food colouring for bakery applications.