What Is Red Dye 40?
Red Dye 40—or food red No. 40—is a synthetic colourant derived from petroleum found in many food products. It’s added to food and cosmetics to create a rich red hue. The compound is made up of four subsidiary hues, one of which, found in CSA-R, is trisodium 3-hydroxy-4–2,7-naphthalenedisulfonate [1].
What Does Red Dye 40 Do?
Red Dye 40 is used to enhance the appearance of the product. First, the dye is commonly added to foods, beverages and cosmetics to give them a vibrant red colour. It is also added to some medications in order to make the medicine more readily identifiable. Finally, it is worth noting that Red Dye 40 does not enhance the taste or nutritional value of the end product; rather, it serves an aesthetic purpose and helps to make the product more appealing to the eye [1].
Risk Factors of Red Dye 40
Red Dye 40, or Allura Red AC, is a common synthetic food dye. Its consumption has been linked to several health risks, mainly when consumed in high amounts or over a long period.
A pivotal risk factor for Red Dye 40 is that it may be tumorigenic due to its capacity to cause DNA damage. A mouse study showed that Red 40 causes DNA damage in vitro and in vivo; it was given to the mice through a high-fat diet for 10 months, resulting in dysbiosis and chronic low-grade colonic inflammation in the mice.
Another risk factor is the possibility that Red Dye 40 has a role in the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). The study discussed above supports the hypothesis that Red Dye 40 is a negative inducer which dysregulates key elements in early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) initiation [2].
These studies offer some insights into the risk of Red Dye 40, but additional studies are needed to understand these risks in humans fully since the majority of data is based on animal studies.
Is Red Dye 40 Safe During Pregnancy?
It’s not clear that Red Dye 40 is safe for women to ingest while pregnant because few research studies have been done specifically on this subject or on dyes in general. But let’s consider some of what researchers have looked at.
Rats exposed to FD&C Red No 40 in the diet at 0.0, 2.5, 5.0 or 10.0% exhibited significant dose-related reductions in reproductive success, parental body and offspring body and brain weight, survival and female vaginal patency (opening into the external genitalia). Rats exposed to Red 40 also exhibited reduced running wheel activity and increased postweaning open-field rearing activity. Sexually immature rats exposed to Red 40 also showed physical toxicity and behavioural toxicity at doses as low as 10% of the diet [3].
Another study evaluated FD&C Red No. 40 at 0, 0.2, 0.4, or 0.7% in the drinking water ad libitum throughout gestation for female Osborne-Mendel rats and reported no fetal terata and no dose-related maternal findings, numbers of fetuses or foetal viability, or external or visceral variations. It significantly increased the incidence of foetuses with decreased ossification of the hyoid at the 0.7% dose level [4].
However, it is essential to note that these studies were conducted on rats, and the effects in humans may differ drastically. Therefore, more research is needed to fully comprehend the potential risks of Red Dye 40 during human pregnancy.