British Food Journal

Consumption of synthetic food colours during festivals in Hyderabad, India

Pratima Rao Ramesh V. Bhat R.V. Sudershan T. Prasanna Krishna
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Pratima Rao Ramesh V. Bhat R.V. Sudershan T. Prasanna Krishna, (2005),"Consumption of synthetic food
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BFJ
107,5 Consumption of synthetic food
colours during festivals in
Hyderabad, India
276
Pratima Rao
Food & Drug Toxicology Research Centre, National Institute of Nutrition,
Hyderabad, India, and
Ramesh V. Bhat, R.V. Sudershan and T. Prasanna Krishna
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National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, India

Abstract
Purpose In India, there are various religions and cultures. Several festivals are celebrated through
the year, and a variety of specific foods are prepared for each of the festivals. The aim was to study the
extent of consumption of colours during festivals.
Design/methodology/approach A household survey was carried out in the urban areas of
Hyderabad among individuals in the age groups 1-5 years, 6-18 years and .18 years from three
socio-economic groups high, middle, and low income from government quarters. The respondents
of the study were interviewed using a food frequency questionnaire to elicit information on the intake
of colours during festivals. The festivals selected for the study were Sankranthi, Diwali, Holi and
Christmas.
Findings The consumption pattern of various foods among all the subjects of the study during the
four festivals indicated that a majority of the subjects (44 per cent) consumed sweetmeats. The intake
of tartrazine and sunset yellow was observed to be higher during festivals due to the extensive use of
these colours in sweetmeats, savouries and beverages that are most commonly available during
festivals. The present investigation showed that there has been a shift in the preferences for foods
during festivals (i.e. mainly sweetmeats and the type of colours consumed).
Originality/value As there was an excessive consumption of yellow colours like tartrazine and
sunset yellow and lesser consumption of red colours like ponceau 4R and carmoisine, the Indian
government needs to take into consideration such situations when setting maximum permissible
limits.
Keywords Food and drink products, Food additives, Colour, India
Paper type Research paper

British Food Journal
Vol. 107 No. 5, 2005
pp. 276-284
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0007-070X
DOI 10.1108/00070700510596875
Introduction
Food has always been central to human activity. In a number of countries, it is a major
element in peoples cultural and spiritual activities. India is a land of various religions
and numerous cultures, and various festivals are celebrated throughout the year.
Specific foods are prepared for each festival.
Seventy per cent of Indias population lives in villages, and the vast majority of
people depend solely on agriculture. As a result, we find that most Hindu festivals are
directly or indirectly linked to agriculture and related activities.
The authors thank the Director, National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), for the keen interest shown
in the study. The financial support provided by the Department of Food Processing, Government
of India, New Delhi, is gratefully acknowledged.
 Makara Sankranthi is one such big festival, celebrated by Hindus every year in Synthetic food
mid-January to mark the harvest of crops and a special thanksgiving to God, the sun, colours in India
the earth and the cattle. This particular festival traditionally coincides with the
beginning of the Suns northward journey when it enters the sign of Makar (Capricorn).
It falls on January 14 every year according to the Solar Calendar. This day has a very
special significance because day and night on Makar Sankranti are of exactly the same
length. This day has been celebrated as a festival right from the times of the Aryans 277
and is looked upon as the most auspicious day by Hindus. The harvest festival is
known by different names in various parts of the country, such as Pongal in the state
of Tamil Nadu, Bhogali Bihu in the North Eastern State of Assam, Lohri in Punjab,
Bhogi in Andhra Pradesh and Makar Sankranti in the rest of the country, including
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal.
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In Andhra Pradesh during the harvest festival (Makara Sankranthi), sweet

preparations like puffed rice laddus, and savouries like muruku (made from rice flour
and black lentils) are commonly prepared.
The festival of Holi is celebrated every year on the day after the full moon in early
March. Holi is now a symbolic commemoration of a legend from Hindu mythology
wherein the Hindus celebrate the ultimate triumph of good over evil. Holi, the
joyous festival of colours, involves the preparation of brightly coloured sugar
medallions mostly favoured by children.
Deepavali, the festival of the lights, is celebrated by Hindus all over India, and
symbolises the destruction of evil forces. The festival is celebrated for over five days in
North India. In South India, naraka chaturdashii (the killing of Narakasura, who was
also an evil demon) is the main day of celebration, with a lot of fire crackers. During
this festival, sweetmeats like laddus (a confection in the form of a ball made from
Bengal gram pulse flour and thick jaggery or syrup), burfis (made from evaporated
milk, sugar, water and nuts), mysore pak (a pulse-based fudge) and halwas (made from
wheat flour/Bengal gram flour or fruits or vegetables) are prepared.
Christmas is a festival which is celebrated all over the world. Christians in Andhra
Pradesh celebrate their festivals broadly on the pattern adopted worldwide. The
festival of Christmas marks the birth of Jesus Christ, who came into the world to be
with people and save them from sin. During Christmas, a variety of cakes, biscuits,
cookies and pies are generally consumed (Achaya, 1998). Synthetic and natural colours
are used in many foods to enhance their appearance and thereby influence the
perception of texture and taste (Kiple and Ornelas, 2000).
The Joint Food and Agriculture Organisation/World Health Organisation Expert
Committee on Food Additives has recognized that colour has an effect on the choice of
food ( JECFA, 1996). It could be through influencing taste thresholds (Maga, 1974),
sweetness perception (Pangborn, 1960), pleasantness (Ollikainen, 1982) and
acceptability (Clydesdale and Walford, 1984). Traditionally, spices like turmeric, red
chilli powder and saffron were used not just for their colour but also for their flavour
and medicinal properties (Bhat and Mathur, 1998). Although food habits are generally
governed by traditions and family backgrounds, they are subjected to changes in
lifestyles. With the break-up of joint families, the increasing number of working
women, and increasing exposure of the population to mass media and advertisements,
there has been an increased demand for processed foods (Potty, 1995). Processing
conditions in cooking and preserving foods at home or in industry often result in
 BFJ fading of colour and require the addition of colour to restore the original appearance.
107,5 This is achieved by combining individual chemical ingredients of both natural and
synthetic origin. In the Indian food industry, synthetic colours are preferred to natural
colours due to their low cost and high tinctorial value (Babu and Shenolikar, 1995).
A survey during festivals in 1993/4 in the twin cities of Hyderabad and
Secunderabad confirmed the wide usage of non-permitted colours, such as orange II,
278 rhodamine and auramine, in sweets and confectioneries (National Institute of Nutrition,
1994). In a developing country like India, the intake of colours during festivals is of
concern as there are several instances of food-borne diseases due to consumption of
non-permitted food colours that could cause a wide range of adverse reactions. Metanil
yellow in biryani and ladoo has been reported to cause symptoms of giddiness,
vomiting, cyanosis and toxic methaemoglobinaemia. However, neither the quantity of
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food consumed nor the amount of colour consumed were reported (Chandra and
Nagaraja, 1987). Another study reported that the consumption of a particular brand of
aniseed having very high levels of ponceau 4R produced symptoms of glossitis of the
tongue in children (National Institute of Nutrition, 1994). It has been observed that
during festivals, there is the chance of high consumption of foods with added colours,
which could result in an acute problem as well as a consumption of colours that is
higher than the acceptable daily intake (ADI). ADI has been defined as the amount of a
substance that can be consumed every day throughout the lifetime of an individual
without any appreciable health effects ( JECFA, 1996). The present study was
undertaken to study the intake of synthetic food colours during festivals in Hyderabad.

Materials and methods

A household survey was carried out in the urban areas of Hyderabad among
individuals in the age ranges 1-5 years, 6-18 years and . 18 years from government
quarters, consisting of people from three socio-economic groups i.e. high, middle and
low. In total, 1,253 subjects were surveyed. The households were selected by the
random sampling technique. The number of pre-school children was limited due to
their availability at the time of the survey (Table I). The festivals selected for the study
were Sankranthi, Diwali, Holi and Christmas. Information on the habitual frequency of
consumption of foods with added colours was elicited by a food frequency
questionnaire using a list of various coloured foods. The list of foods was computed
during a market survey that was carried out to study the availability of foods with
added colours. The food list was used as a tool to enable the respondents in recalling
the foods they consume (Rao et al., 2004). The respondents were asked about the type of

High income Middle income Low income

1-5 6-18 . 18 1-5 6-18 .18 1-5 6-18 .18
Festival years years years years years years years years years

Sankranthi 8 23 68 6 22 72 5 38 57
Holi 8 23 68 6 22 72 5 38 57
Table I. Diwali 4 25 67 1 18 75 13 45 50
Profile of individuals Christmas 5 35 82 15 40 65 20 45 50
surveyed in urban and Total 25 106 285 28 102 284 43 166 214
rural areas Note: n 1; 253 subjects
 coloured foods consumed on the days of the festivals and the quantities consumed. Synthetic food
Portion sizes (i.e. quantities of foods with added colours consumed) were recorded colours in India
using standardized stainless steel cups. To quantify the amount of beverage intake,
standard measuring glasses in capacities of 60, 120, 240 and 500 ml were used. The
data was analysed using SPSS.
The foods with added colours that were consumed by the respondents in the urban
areas were procured from local markets, vendors, supermarkets, sweetmeat stalls, etc., 279
and were analysed for the type and level of colours they contained. Qualitative analysis
was conducted using the wool dyeing and column chromatography techniques for
extraction of colours, followed by identification through ascending paper
chromatography in standard solvent systems such as 1 per cent ammonia, 2 per
cent sodium chloride in 50 per cent ethanol and 80 g phenol in 20 g water (Toteja et al.,
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1990). Quantitative analysis was carried out by measuring the optical density of the
coloured solutions using a spectrophotometer (Ranganna, 1986). The mean colour
intake per day by each individual was calculated from the concentration of colours in
foods and the reported quantities of coloured foods ingested. The body weights of the
subjects were recorded using the standard National Center Health Statistics chart.

Results and discussion

The quantitative consumption pattern of foods with added colours is indicated in
Table II. During Diwali, sweetmeats such as pulse-based preparations like ladoo,
halwas, jilebi, mysore pak, cereal-based sweets like puffed rice ladoo, milk-based sweets
like pedas, burfis, etc., were consumed in the range 10-125 g per day by individuals
from the three socio-economic groups. During the festival of Holi, a sweet dish known
as sharkari-putrika (hard boiled confectionery in the form of various moulds such as
animals and birds) is a great favourite among children, and sugar candies were
consumed by the low-income subjects in the range of 10-100 g per day. These sweets
are available in bright yellow, pink and orange colours and strung together in the form
of a garland to attract children. These are widely sold by street vendors in Hyderabad.
(Achaya, 1998).
Miscellaneous foods like savouries in the form of deep fried snacks, finger fries, and
sev were consumed by the subjects of the study during Diwali (15-100 g), Holi (10-50 g),

Income groups Food commodities Sankranthi Holi Diwali Christmas

High Beverages (ml) 120-300 50-300 100-250

Sweetmeats (g) 10-65 10-65 25-85 25-75
Confectionery (g) 25-50 15-50
Miscellaneous (g) 25 45-100 35-50
Middle Beverages (ml) 25-120
Sweetmeats (g) 15-65 15-145 20-120 25-50
Confectionery (g) 25-65 15-47
Miscellaneous (g) 25-65 10-50 25-50 45-100
Low Beverages (ml) 40-50 75-300 Table II.
Sweetmeats (g) 15-125 5-230 10-125 10-65 Intake of foods with
Confectionery (g) 25-52 10-100 8-75 10-50 added colours among
Miscellaneous (g) 25-75 8-35 15-100 individuals during
Note: Miscellaneous foods include deep-fried snacks made from cereal or pulse flours festivals
 BFJ and Sankranthi (25-75 g). During Christmas foods like chicken manchuria, noodles,
non-vegetarian gravy curries and desserts (10-100 g) were consumed. An interesting
107,5 finding of the study was the high intake of beverages in the form of synthetic coloured
drinks popularly known as sherbets, sold in plastic sachets in the range 15-300 ml
during the festival of Holi. It may be observed that beverages were consumed in
greater quantities (i.e. up to 300 ml) than foods from other categories.
280 The consumption pattern of various foods among all the subjects of the study
during the four festivals is depicted in Figure 1. The most consumed foods were
sweetmeats (e.g. burfis, pedas, jilebis, etc.), being consumed by 44 per cent of the
sample, while 10 per cent consumed miscellaneous foods like savouries, only 3 per cent
consumed beverages and bakery items purchased outside the home, and 4 per cent
consumed confectionery. The remaining 36 per cent consumed foods without added
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colours that were prepared in the home.

A study on the intake of foods with added colours among individuals belonging to
various age groups revealed the mean intake of colours to be in the range 0.2-5.9 mg

Figure 1.
Commodity based
consumption patterns
among all age groups
during festivals
 (Rao et al., 2004). The present study showed the mean colour intakes to be in the range Synthetic food
0.01-7.6 mg, showing a general reverse. The intake of tartrazine and sunset yellow was colours in India
observed to be higher during festivals in all three age groups, indicating the extensive
use of these colours in the sweetmeats, savouries and beverages that are most
commonly available during festivals. This could be due to the popular belief that
yellow is an auspicious colour in most of Asia, and is also known to be a colour of
royalty (Vinning and Crippen, 1999). Also, turmeric is extensively used in Indian 281
preparations made from Bengal gram flour, which is dull yellow in appearance. It is
often used to replace saffron to provide colour and flavour. In contrast, the intake of
carmoisine and ponceau 4R was higher during the non-festival period (Rao et al., 2004)
than during festivals due to the higher consumption of foods like jams, confectionery
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and miscellaneous foods containing these colours during the normal period
(presumably this takes into account the fact that festivals account for only seven
days a year) (Table III).
The mean individual colour intake per day during festive occasions is given in
Table IV. Tartrazine and sunset yellow were the two permitted colours that were
predominantly consumed by all age group individuals. The tartrazine intake was as
high as 115.6 mg among adults (. 18 years) of the high income group and 1-146.9 mg
among the 6-18 age group in the low income group. The mean intake of sunset yellow
was observed to be high among the pre-school children of the low income group, i.e.
11.5 mg by consumption of confectionery like sugar toys whose intake had exceeded
the ADI during the festival. The range of sunset yellow intake was 1.0-124.7 mg among
the age 6-18 low income group through the consumption of sweets, savouries, cakes,
etc. The sunset yellow intake of two children from this age group exceeded the ADI.
Colours are extremely symbolic in most cultures, but especially in the Chinese
culture. The Chinese celebrate the year of the golden dragon, a symbol of strength, and
it is known that in Chinese cooking, colour shares equal importance with aroma and
flavour in the preparation of each dish. The colour red signifies prosperity and is used
in preparations such as a red chicken dish called hong zhou gai (Vinning and Crippen,
1999). In contrast, in the present study, the intake of carmoisine and ponceau 4R was
comparatively low, the intake being 0.04-12.4 mg for carmoisine and 0.2-17.0 mg of
ponceau 4R. A mean intake of 0.01 mg of erythrosine was observed only among the age
1-5 and 6-18 low income groups. This was through the intake of confectionery coated
with the colour. The intake of brilliant blue was high, the range being 1.0-42 mg among

1-5 years 6-18 years . 18 years

Permitted colours Non-festiveb Festivalsa Non-festiveb Festivalsa Non-festiveb Festivalsa

Tartrazine 4.5 3.1 3.0 7.6 0.6 4.6

Sunset yellow 2.0 5.1 1.6 3.7 1.4 2.4
Carmoisine 5.2 0.2 3.6 0.3 2.3 0.6
Ponceau 4R 3.3 0.5 5.9 0.4 2.2 0.4 Table III.
Erythrosine 0.2 0.01 0.4 0.01 0.6 0.0 Comparison of mean
Brilliant blue 0.9 0.2 0.2 0.8 0.0 1.0 colour intakes during
Note: All values expressed in milligrams; aonly on seven days of festivals such as Sankranthi, Holi, non-festive and festive
Diwali and Christmas; bremaining 358 days of the year periods
 BFJ Intake of colours (mg)
107,5 Permitted colours Income groups 1-5 years 6-18 years .18 years

Tartrazine High 1.0-16.0 (1.7) 1.0-111.7 (8.4**) 1.0-115.6 (6.3**)

Middle 1.0-15.0 (4.3**) 1.0-20.8 (3.4*) 2.0-24.5 (3.9*)
Low 1.0-18.9 (3.4)** 1.0-146.9 (11.2**) 1.5-114.0 (3.5*)
282 Sunset yellow High 1.0-7.4 (1.3) 1.0-36.2 (2.7*) 1.0-109.8 (3.5*)
Middle 1.0-16.5 (2.5)* 1.0-52.5 (2.4*) 1.0-1.0-36.0 (2.1*)
Low 1.0-118.5 (11.5)** 1.0-124.7 (6.1**) 1.0-27.6 (1.7)
Carmoisine High 0.04-1.0 (0.04) 0.08-6.0 (0.08) 0.3-14.0 (0.3)
Middle 0.14-4.0 (0.14) 0.04-4.0 (0.04)
Low 0.4-10.0 (0.4) 0.6-12.4 (0.6) 0.25-7.0 (0.25)
Ponceau 4R High 0.6-8.0 (0.6) 0.15-6.0 (0.15) 0.2-12.0 (0.2)
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Middle 0.71-11.8 (0.71) 0.13-5.0 (0.13)

Low 0.4-10.0 (0.4) 0.3-17.0 (0.3) 0.06-5.0 (0.06)
Erythrosine High
Middle
Low 0.01-0.2 (0.01) 0.01-1.0 (0.01)
Brilliant blue High 0.4-14.0 (0.4) 1.0-14.0 (0.3)
Table IV. Middle 0.2-1.5 (0.2) 0.3-6.5 (0.3) 1.0-6.5 (0.19)
Mean individual colour Low 0.19-2.8 (0.19) 1.6-42.0 (1.6) 1.0-42.0 (0.5)
intake during festivals Notes: Numbers in parentheses indicate mean colour intakes; *moderate intake; **high intake

the age 6-18 and . 18 groups, who consumed green coloured sweetmeats containing
high amounts of colour (i.e. 1,326 mg per g).
An earlier study on the intake of foods with added colours revealed the intake of
non-permitted colours like orange II (0.1-5.2 mg), fast red (0.6-1.5 mg), amaranth
(0.1-11.3 mg), auramine (1.1-1.5 mg) and rhodamine (0.1-7.5 mg) consumed by
individuals during the non-festival period. In the present study non-permitted
colours such as orange II, fast red and rhodamine were consumed. The mean intakes of
rhodamine and orange II were higher (i.e. 4.2 and 4.8 mg), which maybe attributed to
the increased consumption of sugar toys during the festival of Holi (see Table V).
However the intake of rhodamine is a matter of concern as it is known to cause
retardation of growth, haemolysis of red blood cells and degenerative changes of the
liver and kidney (Wess and Archer, 1982). A surveillance study in Hong Kong also
showed that orange II, which produces a golden-yellow colour, was occasionally
detected in vegetarian food and bakery products despite it being a banned substance
(Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, 1999). Colours such as amaranth and

Non-permitted colours Non-festive periodb Festivalsa

Orange II 1.5 4.8

Fast red 3.1 2.6
Table V. Amaranth 1.8
Consumption pattern of Auramine 1.2
non-permitted colours Rhodamine 2.9 4.2
during festivals and Notes: aOnly on the seven days of festivals such as Sankranthi, Holi, Diwali and Christmas;
b
non-festive period (mg) remaining 358 days of the year
 auramine were not consumed during any of the festivals, which may be due to the Synthetic food
preference for other colours during the festivals. colours in India
It can be observed from the present investigation that there has been a shift in
preferences for foods during festivals towards sweetmeats and thus a shift in the types
of colours consumed. It has also been observed that during festivals there is an
excessive consumption of colours like tartrazine and sunset yellow and lesser
consumption of colours like ponceau 4R and carmoisine. 283
In India the fixing of a uniform maximum permissible limit of 100 ppm of synthetic
colours in foods is at present arbitrary and not based on the principles of risk
assessment. There is a need to fix levels based on the type of foods and the extent of
consumption. During festivals there is a preference for certain foods and therefore a
higher exposure to colours in these foods, due to which there maybe chances of the ADI
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being exceeded, which in turn could result in acute problems.

The Government of India needs to take into consideration such situations while
setting the maximum limits for colours by strictly implementing the provisions of the
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act regulations.

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Further reading
Downham, A. and Collins, P. (2000), Colouring our foods in the last and next millennium,
International Journal of Food Science and Technology, Vol. 35, pp. 5-22.
Mead, B. and Rosen, S. (1996), Income and diet differences greatly affect food spending around
the globe, Food Review, pp. 39-44.
Rao, P. (2003), Dietary intake of synthetic food colours, doctoral thesis, Osmania University,
Hyderabad.
Rao, P., Bhat, R.V. and Naidu, A.N. (2002), Situation analysis of the availability of foods with
added colors in Hyderabad vis-a`-vis the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, Indian Food
Industry, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 41-3.
Shaw, A., Mathur, P. and Mehrotra, N.N. (1993), A study of consumers attitude towards
processed food, Indian Food Industry, Vol. 47, pp. 29-41.
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