E122Colour

Azorubine

What the research shows

Prototype

Not enough

published research on this page yet

How we decide

A red colouring known as carmoisine.

It is mainly used in foods that are heat-treated after fermentation.

Written from English Wikipedia1

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • EU permitted with restrictions

What research says

Study type not stated

  • Concern

    Blood protein clumping2

    Azorubine changed the shape of a blood protein, and at acidic pH it made the protein clump.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least two findings in people. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.

Regulatory status

Checked Sep 2026
  • European Union Permitted With restrictions EUR-Lex Reg. (EC) 1333/2008 With the exception of: (a) foods where the colour(s) has been used for the purposes of health or other marking on meat products or for stamping or decorative colouring on eggshells; and (b) beverages containing more than 1,2 % by volume of alcohol.
  • United Kingdom Permitted FSA retained EU law

Status reflects the named register on the date checked. It is not a safety rating. A country appears here once we've found this ingredient on its official list.

How we check

Products

The 6 most-scanned of 47 products on Open Food Facts that list azorubine.

  • WeiKFiELD Weikfield · 100 3 additives
  • strawberry calpol · 100 ml 8 additives
  • Sweet chilli pepper flavoured corn chips Doritos · 145 g 12 additives
  • Gaviscon double action 24 tab 3 additives
  • Vopsea ouo Alex · 17 g 9 additives
  • Noesis Angel Hair Chocolate NOESIS 2 additives

References

  1. 1Azorubine. Wikipedia. Accessed September 26, 2026.
  2. 2Khan MS, Rehman MT, Shaik GM, et al. Aggregation and cytotoxicity of food additive dye (Azorubine)-albumin adducts: a multi-spectroscopic, microscopic and computational analysis. J Biomol Struct Dyn. 2025;43(2):946-956. doi:10.1080/07391102.2023.2289046