The research, which was conducted by scientists at the Indian Institute of Toxicology (IITR), studied the usage pattern of synthetic food colours in products favoured by children.
The study saw the scientists conduct a household survey of the food intake pattern of 518 children in 16 states. The children were further divided further into five age groups of 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13-15 and 16-18.
The researchers generated data covering 16 major states to identify food products in which colours exceeded the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) limits.
The study was conducted with the ADI limits issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) as a base. These permit the use of eight synthetic colours in specific foods at a uniform level of 100 ppm.
The FSSAI has said previously that it is yet to revise the limits for colour additives and is currently following the same limits as prescribed in the now defunct Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of 1954.
Under the study’s recommendations, the scientists suggest that fixing a uniform permissible limit of 100 ppm for all food colours in different foods is unrealistic.
They argue that since children are generally attracted more to food with such colours, and since their body weight is lower compared to adults, there is a need to revise the ADI limit to decrease the risk of exposure for them.
Madhya Pradesh top rogue state in breaking limits
The study found that Madhya Pradesh was the leading state where norms for usage of permitted colours were not met, with 102 of the 162 sampled products showing permitted colours exceeding the required limit of 100 ppm.
It was followed by the state of Bihar, where of all the tested products using permitted food colours, 61.5% showed non-compliance to the set norms for usage.
Third in line was the state of Uttar Pradesh where 86 of the 141 samples using permitted colours were found to be exceeding the maximum allowed limit.
Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra followed with 60.4 and 57.7% of sampled products exceeding the maximum allowed limit, while Orissa and Himachal Pradesh were the best of the lot with 42.7% and 41.4%, respectively.
Of all the products tested, an average of 48% complied with the maximum allowable concentration limit of 100 ppm for permitted food colours.
Use of prohibited food colours also rampant
The study also found that the use of prohibited food colours was also rampant. The states of West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh lead in this regard, with 27% and 25.8%, respectively.
The scientists noted that of the prohibited colours used, inclusion of rhodamine B was highest at10.9%, followed by orange 2 at 0.66%, amaranth at 0.17% and metanyl yellow at 0.10%.
The levels of non-permitted colours used varied between 37 and 1081 ppm, according to the study. The greatest rate of consumption of foods containing these prohibited colours was found in the age group of 7-9 and 13-15 years.
Food and beverages were sampled as part of the study, with the scientists reporting the greatest intake of colours through beverages, followed by bakery products, ice-cream, candy, coated candies, candy floss, chewing gums, jam, jellies, mouth-fresheners, and hard-boiled sugar confectioneries.
This study was published in the journal - Food Additives and Contaminants - published by the Taylor and Francis Group. Four scientists of the IITR - Sumita Dixit, S K Purshottam, S K Khanna and Mukul Das - researched for this paper.