1- Department of Food Safety and Hygiene, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
Abstract: (14 Views)
Background: Unconsciousness and misuse of synthetic and non-permitted food colorants are considered widespread fraud and a serious threat to the health of the community, especially young children. The purpose of this study was to determine the status of three non-permitted food colorants in confectionery products in Zanjan.
Methods: Confectionery products (candies, polki, pastilles, chocolate confectioneries such as Smarties, dragées, freezer pops, and cakes) were randomly sampled from different supply centers in Zanjan. Color analysis was performed by the thin-layer chromatography (TLC) method. Finally, the retention value (RF criterion) was used to detect color type.
Results: In this cross-sectional study, among 150 colored samples were collected from the supply centers including confectionaries and supermarkets, 47 samples (31%) contained at least one or three banned yellow synthetic dyes including tartrazine (E 102), amaranth (E 123) and chocolate brown HT E 155) with a misuse rate 42%, 31% and 20%, respectively. Tartrazine had the highest misuse rate among the studied dyes.
Conclusion: The study concludes that unauthorized synthetic food colors-specifically tartrazine, amaranth, and chocolate brown-are widely present in confectionery products in Zanjan, Iran, with 80% of samples containing at least one of these additives.
Methods: Confectionery products (candies, polki, pastilles, chocolate confectioneries such as Smarties, dragées, freezer pops, and cakes) were randomly sampled from different supply centers in Zanjan. Color analysis was performed by the thin-layer chromatography (TLC) method. Finally, the retention value (RF criterion) was used to detect color type.
Results: In this cross-sectional study, among 150 colored samples were collected from the supply centers including confectionaries and supermarkets, 47 samples (31%) contained at least one or three banned yellow synthetic dyes including tartrazine (E 102), amaranth (E 123) and chocolate brown HT E 155) with a misuse rate 42%, 31% and 20%, respectively. Tartrazine had the highest misuse rate among the studied dyes.
Conclusion: The study concludes that unauthorized synthetic food colors-specifically tartrazine, amaranth, and chocolate brown-are widely present in confectionery products in Zanjan, Iran, with 80% of samples containing at least one of these additives.
Keywords: Amaramth, Brown chocolate dye, Confectionery products, Synthetic color additives, Tartrazine
Type of Study: Original Article |
Subject:
Food Safety and Hygiene
Received: 2025/09/27 | Accepted: 2025/11/29
Received: 2025/09/27 | Accepted: 2025/11/29
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