Green S food colour and its daily intake limit
What it found
The authors kept the existing daily intake limit of 5 mg per kg of body weight per day for Green S.
They found that some children eating the most could take in more than that limit.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Missing damage tests
There were not enough tests on whether Green S can damage genes. However, animal cancer studies and reproductive toxicity studies gave negative results.
Other findings
Daily intake limit kept
The authors saw no reason to change the daily intake limit of 5 mg per kg of body weight per day set in 1984.
Children's intake
At the highest amounts used in food, children who eat the most could take in more than the daily intake limit. This was based on a rough estimate, but not on a more detailed estimate.
Adults' intake
For adults, the daily intake limit was not exceeded, even with the rough estimate.
Balancing missing data
The authors noted that whether missing gene damage tests can be balanced by cancer and reproductive toxicity studies is still being discussed by the Scientific Committee.
What the authors conclude
“The Panel considered that the present dataset on the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion, subchronic, reproductive, developmental and long-term toxicity and carcinogenicity do not give reason to revise the ADI of 5 mg/kg bw/day allocated by the SCF in 1984.”
Also in their conclusions
- They concluded that the current evidence does not give reason to revise the daily intake limit of 5 mg per kg of body weight per day.
- They noted that at the highest amounts used, children who eat the most may take in more than this limit based on a rough estimate, but not on a more detailed estimate.
- They stated that the lack of adequate gene damage data is balanced by negative results from cancer and reproductive toxicity studies.
How it was done
Green S is a food colour used in the EU. The authors looked again at the evidence to see if the existing daily intake limit needed to change.
They reviewed studies on how Green S is taken in, broken down and passed out of the body, as well as short-term, reproductive, developmental and long-term toxicity and cancer studies. They also estimated how much Green S people might eat at different levels of use.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a review of existing studies, not a new experiment. It cannot show what would happen if people ate different amounts of Green S over time.
- The intake estimates are based on assumptions about how much food people eat and how much Green S is in it. They cannot show actual intake for any one person.
The paper
- Title
- Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of Green S (E 142) as a food additive
- Type
- Scientific opinion of the European Food Safety Authority
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Licence
- CC BY-ND. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS) (2010). Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of Green S (E 142) as a food additive. EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1851Free full textPubMed 42079527DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error