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Amaranth

 
Wikipedia: Amaranth (dye)
Amaranth (dye)
Amaranth new.png
IUPAC name
Other names FD&C Red No. 2,
E123,
C.I. Food Red 9,
Acid Red 27,
Azorubin S,
C.I. 16185
Identifiers
CAS number 915-67-3 Yes check.svgY
PubChem 6093196
SMILES
InChI
InChI key WLDHEUZGFKACJH-DFZHHIFOAW
ChemSpider ID 21169821
Properties
Molecular formula C20H11N2Na3O10S3
Molar mass 604.47305
Appearance Dark red solid
Melting point

120 °C (decomposes)

Hazards
R-phrases R36/37/38
S-phrases S36/37/39
 Yes check.svgY (what is this?)  (verify)
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox references

Amaranth, FD&C Red No. 2, E123, C.I. Food Red 9, Acid Red 27, Azorubin S, or C.I. 16185, is a dark red to purple azo dye once used as a food dye and to color cosmetics, but since 1976 it has been banned in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as it is a suspected carcinogen. The FDA showed a significant increase in cancer among aged female rats that had been fed large doses of the dye. Alexander Schmidt of the FDA stated that the FDA found "no evidence of a public health hazard".[1][2] It usually comes as a trisodium salt. It has the appearance of reddish-brown, dark red to purple water-soluble powder that decomposes at 120 °C without melting. Its water solution has absorption maximum at about 520 nm.[citation needed] Amaranth is made from coal tar. Amaranth is an anionic dye. It can be applied to natural and synthetic fibers, leather, paper, and phenol-formaldehyde resins. As a food additive it has E number E123.

History

In 1960 the FDA was given jurisdiction over color additives and gave "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) provisional status to substances already in use. The agency extended Red No. 2's provisional status 14 times. In 1971 a Russian study linked cancer to the dye and consumer activists in the United States put pressure on the FDA to ban it.[1] By 1976 over 1 million pounds of the dye worth $US 5 million was used as a colorant in $10 billion worth of foods, drugs and cosmetics.[1] The FDA banned FD&C Red No. 2 in 1976.[1][3] FD&C Red No. 40 (Allura Red AC) replaced the decertified color.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Death of a Dye". Time magazine. February 2, 1976. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,945520,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-07. "The FDA's most recent tests showed a significant increase in cancer among aged female rats that had been fed large doses of the dye. Commissioner Alexander Schmidt stressed that the FDA found "no evidence of a public health hazard" from products made with the dye." 
  2. ^ "The following color additives are not authorized for use in food products in the United States: (1) Amaranth (C.I. 16185, EEC No. E123, formerly certifiable as FD&C red No. 2);" FDA/CFSAN Food Compliance Program: Domestic Food Safety Program
  3. ^ "Burger Backs Red Dye Ban Pending Rule". The Hartford Courant. February 14, 1976. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/959307712.html?dids=959307712:959307712&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Feb+14%2C+1976&author=&pub=The+Hartford+Courant&desc=Burger+Backs+Red+Dye+Ban+Pending+Rule&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2009-07-07. "Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Friday refused to lift the government ban on use of Red No. 2, the popular dye, pending a lower court ruling on whether the ban will be permanent." 

See also


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Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Amaranth (dye)" Read more