Erythrosine

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Erythrosine
IUPAC name	2-(6-hydroxy-2,4,5,7-tetraiodo- 3-oxo-xanthen-9-yl)benzoic acid
Identifiers
CAS number	16423-68-0 Y
PubChem	27872
SMILES	C1=CC=C(C(=C1)C2=C3C=C(C(=O) C(=C3OC4=C(C(=C(C=C24)I)O)I)I)I)C(=O)O
Properties
Molecular formula	C20H6I4Na2O5
Molar mass	879.86 g/mol
Y (what is this?)  (verify) Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox references

Erythrosine, a.k.a. Red No. 3, is a cherry-pink synthetic fluorone food coloring. It is the disodium salt of 2,4,5,7-tetraiodofluorescein. Its maximum absorbance is at 530 nm^[1] in an aqueous solution, and it is subject to photodegradation.^{[citation needed]}

Uses

It is used as a food coloring, in printing inks, as a biological stain, a dental plaque disclosing agent and a radiopaque medium. It is commonly used in sweets and foods marketed to children such as cake icing and cake-decorating gels.^[2][3] It is also used to color pistachio shells.^[4]

Although Red #3 has been highly implicated as a carcinogen^[5], it is commonly used in sweets and foods marketed to children such as some candies and popsicles, and even more widely used in cake-decorating gel.^[6] Diamond Foods uses Red #3 to dye pecan shells red in its Blue Diamond line of mixed nuts for cosmetic reasons.^[7] It is also used in strawberry Slim-Fast and its generic counterpart.

While commonly used in most countries of the world, erythrosine is less commonly used in the United States due to its known carcinogenic hazards,^[8] with Allura Red AC (Red #40) being generally used instead. However, Allura Red AC is banned in many European countries because it is an azo dye, despite the fact that it has fewer known health risks than Erythrosine.

As a result of efforts begun in the 1970s, in 1990 the FDA had instituted a partial ban on Red #3, citing research that it has been found to cause cancer in rats.^[9] In June of 2008, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) petitioned the FDA for a complete ban on Red 3 in the United States.^[10]

Classification

It is listed under the following number systems:

• FD&C Red No. 3
• E number E127 (Food Red 14)
• Color Index no. 45430 (Acid Red 51)
• Indian Standards No. 1697

References

1. ^ Food Color Additives
2. ^ U.S. FDA Food Color Facts
3. ^ Red40 Website
4. ^ Food Product Design Article
5. ^ Do You Eat Food With Any Of These 9 Cancer-Causing Chemicals?
6. ^ E.g., CakeMate pink, Signature Brands, LLC, Ocala, Florida, USA [Purchased at Harris Teeter grocery, Arlington, Virginia, 4 November 2007]
7. ^ Blue Diamond Ultra Premium Blend Mixed Nuts, distributed by Diamond Foods, Inc. Stockton, CA
8. ^ Studies on Food Dyes
9. ^ http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-1109215.html
10. ^ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/03/health/main4151092.shtml

External links

• Bureau of Indian Standards: List of Indian Standards under mandatory certification
• Some more details, other common names