Since Ponceau 4R is an azo dye, it may elicit intolerance in people intolerant to salicylates. Additionally, it is a histamine liberator, and may intensify symptoms of asthma. In combination with benzoates, it is also implicated in hyperactivity in children (1).

Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) for the determination of five synthetic food dyes (Quinoline Yellow E104, Sunset Yellow E110, Ponceau 4R E124, Tartrazine E102 and Carmine E120) in vitamins was used. The dyes were analyzed within 10 min using a column with stationary phase C 18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) at 40 °C with isocratic elution, and the mobile phase contained acetonitrile and a mixture of CH₃COONa:CH₃OH (85:15, v/v) in a ratio of 10:90 (v/v) for yellow-colored capsules and 20:80 (v/v) for red-colored capsules, respectively. A diode-array detector was used to monitor the dyes between 190 and 800 nm. It was established that the analyzed samples contained synthetic dyes in a concentration range from 79.5 ± 0.01 μg/capsule of Ponceau 4R, E124 to 524 ± 0.01 μg/capsule of Tartrazine, E102. The obtained results were compared with existing acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) for individual dyes. This paper provides information about the content of dyes in samples of vitamins. This information is not generally available to consumers (2).

When using the colours listed below in food and drink there is a requirement (subject to a limited number of exemptions) to include the additional information that „name or E number of the colour(s)‟: may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children (3).

Other studies

The synthesis, adsorption mechanism and application of polyethyleneimine functionalized magnetic nanoparticles for the analysis of synthetic colorants in candies and beverages.
Chen H, Deng X, Ding G, Qiao Y.
Food Chem. 2019 Sep 30;293:340-347. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.04.111.

Simultaneous determination of twelve dyes in meat products: Development and validation of an analytical method based on HPLC-UV-diode array detection.
Iammarino M, Mentana A, Centonze D, Palermo C, Mangiacotti M, Chiaravalle AE.
Food Chem. 2019 Jul 1;285:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.01.133

SPE/TLC/Densitometric Quantification of Selected Synthetic Food Dyes in Liquid Foodstuffs and Pharmaceutical Preparations.
Sobańska AW, Pyzowski J, Brzezińska E.
J Anal Methods Chem. 2017;2017:9528472. doi: 10.1155/2017/9528472

References_____________________________________

(1) Wageningen University - E124: Ponceau 4R

(2) The Determination of Food Dyes in Vitamins by RP-HPLC.
Šuleková M, Hudák A, Smrčová M.
Molecules. 2016 Oct 17;21(10). pii: E1368.

(3) FSA - Guidance on the labelling of certain food colours as set out in Regulation 1333/2008

E124 or Ponceau 4R, Ponceau SX, E124, is a chemical compound, one of the rarely allowed synthetic azo dyes and is frequently used in the dyeing of beverages, food, medicines, cosmetics, tobacco, textiles. It takes the number CI 14799 and is also known as Acid red 18.

The name describes the structure of the molecule

• The term "Ponceau" is a generic name for a range of red dyes. 
• "4R" is a specific designation that distinguishes this particular dye from others in the same family.

Description of raw materials used in production

The specific production of Ponceau 4R can vary based on industrial methods, but generally might involve:

• Aromatic anhydrides - As a starting point for synthesis.
• Azo compounds - The azo group (N=N) is typical of many dyes and might be introduced through a coupling reaction.

Synthesis process

• Preparation of intermediates: Initially, aromatic intermediates are prepared through a series of reactions.
• Diazotization: This is a process wherein an aromatic compound is converted into a diazonium salt.
• Azo coupling: The prepared diazonium salt is then reacted with another aromatic compound to form the azo bond (N=N), producing the dye.
• Purification: The dye is subsequently purified to remove any impurities.
• Drying: Moisture is removed to yield the dye in powder form.

It has hundreds of synonyms as it is the generic name for a family of azo dyes.

Safety. The problem with azo dyes (monoazo or diazo) is photocatalytic degradation leading to oxidation and the subsequent formation of impurities such as aromatic amines, some of which have carcinogenic activity.

It is usually obtained by a chemical synthesis process from aromatic hydrocarbons; it is stable to heat, light and acid, but fades in the presence of ascorbic acid.

Applications

bakery products, flavors and pharmaceuticals, meat, snacks, beverages, condiments, ink-jet inks, textile, paint colors etc.

Typical features of Ponceau 4R commercial dye:

Relevant studies

Ponceau 4R is used as a coloring agent in many different products, such as food, drinks, medicines, cosmetics and tobacco. However, ponceau 4R also shows carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic behavior in high doses. In this work, standard Raman, theoretical Raman and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra have been used to investigate ponceau 4R. More specifically, density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to calculate the optimized Raman spectrum of ponceau 4R at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level. This has provided a better understanding of the optimized geometry and vibrational frequencies of this dye. In addition, the experimental spectrum of ponceau 4R has been compared with the theoretical spectrum; good agreement was obtained. Finally, it has shown that using SERS the detection limit of the ponceau 4R solution can be as low as 5 μg/mL. This has been achieved by SERS measurements of ponceau 4R on a substrate of gold nanoparticles. The SERS peaks at 1030, 1236, 1356 and 1502 cm(-1) were chosen as index for semi-quantitative analysis, showing that the SERS technique provided a useful ultrasensitive method for the detection of ponceau 4R (1).

The synthetic food dyes studied were rose bengal (RB), phroxine (PL), amaranth, erythrosine B (ET), allura red, new coccine, acid red (AR), tartrazine, sunset yellow FCF, brilliant blue FCF, and indigo carmine...  Result suggests that superoxide anions, originating on dyes by light irradiation, must attack drug-metabolizing enzymes. It is possible that red cosmetics containing phloxine, erythrosine, or rose bengal react with proteins on skin under lighting and may lead to rough skin (2).

Dyes are one of the most important existing pollutants in textile industrial wastewater. These compounds are often toxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic to living organisms, chemically and photochemically stable, and non-biodegradable. Acid red 18 is one of the azo dyes that are currently used in the textile industries (3).

Ponceau 4R studies

• Molecular Formula: C₂₀H₁₁N₂Na₃O₁₀S₃
• Molecular Weight: 604.461 g/mol
• UNII: Z525CBK9PG
• CAS: 2611-82-7    11138-24-2  12000-58-7  161628-34-8  39470-82-1  39471-00-6  51811-48-4  247151-36-6
• EC Number: 220-036-2
• PubChem Substance ID 329751631
• MDL number MFCD00004084
• Beilstein Registry Number 4122340

Synonyms: 

• Ponceau 4R
• E 124
• C.I. Food Red 7
• New coccine
• Acid red 18
• 2611-82-7
• Food Red No. 102
• Victoria Scarlet 3R
• SX Purple
• Zolfosol
• Brilliant Scarlet 3R
• Cochineal Red A
• Food Red 102
• Coccin Red
• New Coccin
• Purple Red
• Atul Scarlet F
• Crimson SX
• Purple SX
• Acid Ponceau 4R
• Acid Scarlet 4R
• Java Scarlet 3R
• Neklacid Red 3R
• Neklacid Red 4R
• Scarlet 4R
• Ponceau 4RE
• Ponceau 4RF
• Ponceau 4RT
• Scarlet 4RA
• C.I. Acid Red 18
• C.I. Acid Red 28
• Cochineal Red 4R
• Kiton Scarlet 4R
• Acid Scarlet 3RZ
• Acid Brilliant Scarlet 3R
• Cilefa Ponceau 4R
• Fenazo Scarlet 3R
• Coccine
• HD Ponceau 4R
• Neucoccin
• Neucoccin [German]
• Ponceau 4RE.FQ
• Colacid Ponceau 4R
• Food Red 7
• Hexacol Ponceau 4R
• Pontacyl Scarlet RR
• Acilan Scarlet V3R
• Victoria Scarlet Red
• Strawberry Red
• Brilliant Ponceau 4R
• Brilliant Ponceau 5R
• Brilliant Scarlet 4R
• Certicol Ponceau 4RS
• Curol Bright Red 4R
• Brilliant Ponceau 3R
• HD Ponceau 4R Supra
• L-Rot 4 [German]
• Strawberry Red A Geigy
• Acid Scarlet 3R
• 1,3-Naphthalenedisulfonic acid,7-hydroxy-8-[(4-sulfo-1-naphthalenyl)azo]-, trisodium salt
• sodium (E)-7-hydroxy-8-((4-sulfonatonaphthalen-1-yl)diazenyl)naphthalene-1,3-disulfonate
• trisodium 7-hydroxy-8-[(4-sulfonato-1-naphthyl)diazenyl]naphthalene-1,3-disulfonate
• trisodium 7-oxo-8-[(4-sulfonato-1-naphthyl)hydrazono]naphthalene-1,3-disulfonate
• trisodium 7-oxo-8-[(4-sulfonatonaphthalen-1-yl)hydrazinylidene]naphthalene-1,3-disulfonate
• trisodium;7-hydroxy-8-[(E)-(4-sulfonatonaphthalen-1-yl)diazenyl]naphthalene-1,3-disulfonate
• tripotassium 7-hydroxy-8-[2-(4-sulfonatonaphthalen-1-yl)diazen-1-yl]naphthalene-1,3-disulfonate
• Brilliant Scarlet
• Atul Acid Scarlet 3R
• Brilliant Ponceau 3RF
• Brilliant Ponceau 4RC
• Food Red Number 102
• Naphthalene Scarlet 4RS
• Naphthalene Ink Scarlet 4R
• Sugai Brilliant Scarlet 3R
• Cerven kysela 18 [Czech]
• Edicol Supra Ponceaux 4 RS
• Rakuto Brilliant Scarlet 3R
• Aizen Brilliant Scarlet 3RH
• Cerven kosenilova A [Czech]
• Bucacid Brilliant Scarlet 3R
• L-Red 4
• Edicol Supra Ponceau 4R
• Eurocert Cochineal Red A
• Hidacid Fast Scarlet 3R
• Red Dye No. 102
• Cochenillerot A [German]
• Acidal Bright Ponceau 3R
• Coccine nouvelle [French]
• Kochineal Red A for Food
• Edicol Supra Ponceau 4RS
• New Coccine Extra Pure A
• Edicol Supra Ponceaux 4RS
• New Coccine Red No. 102
• San-ei Brilliant Scarlet 3R
• Takaoka Brilliant Scarlet 3R
• 1578 Red
• Naphthalene Scarlet 4R
• Daishiki Brilliant Scarlet 3R
• Schultz Nr. 213 [German]
• CCRIS 2652
• Calcocid Brilliant Scarlet 3RN
• Cochineal Red A Specially Pure
• Hispacid Brilliant Scarlet 3RF
• Cerven potravinarska 7 [Czech]
• Rouge de cochenille A [French]
• C.I. Acid Red 18 (VAN)
• HSDB 5537
• Kayaku Food Colour Red No. 102
• New Coccine Extra Conc. A Export
• Symulon Acid Brilliant Scarlet 3R
• NSC 4301
• EINECS 220-036-2
• Brilliant Ponceau 4RC Specially Pure
• Victoria Scharlach 4 R Extra [German]
• Z525CBK9PG
• Brilliant Scarlet 3R (Biological stain)
• C.I. 185
• CI 16255
• Kayaku Acid Brilliant Scarlet 3R
• Ponceau 4R aluminum lake
• C.I. Acid Red 18, Trisodium Salt
• MFCD00004084
• Trisodium 1-(1-naphthylazo)-2-hydroxynaphthalene-4',6,8-trisulphonate
• 1-(4-Sulpho-1-naphthylazo)-2-naphthol-6,8-disulphonic acid, trisodium salt
• 1,3-Naphthalenedisulfonic acid, 7-hydroxy-8-((4-sulfo-1-naphthalenyl)azo)-, trisodium salt
• 1,3-Naphthalenedisulfonic acid, 7-hydroxy-8-[(4-sulfo-1-naphthalenyl)azo]-, trisodium salt
• 7-Hydroxy-8-((4-sulfo-1-naphthalenyl)azo)-1,3-naphthalenedisulfonic acid trisodium salt
• 51811-48-4
• Cochenillerot A
• Coccine nouvelle
• 7-Hydroxy-8-((4-sulfo-1-naphthalenyl)azo)-1,3-naphthalenedisulfon- ic acid, trisodium salt
• trisodium 7-hydroxy-8-[(Z)-(4-sulfonatonaphthalen-1-yl)diazenyl]naphthalene-1,3-disulfonate
• Cerven kysela 18
• trisodium (8E)-7-oxo-8-[(4-sulfonatonaphthalen-1-yl)hydrazinylidene]naphthalene-1,3-disulfonate
• Cerven kosenilova A
• Rouge de cochenille A
• Schultz Nr. 213
• Cerven potravinarska 7
• L-Rot 4
• Victoria Scharlach 4 R Extra
• trisodium 7-hydroxy-8-[(Z)-(4-sulfonato-1-naphthyl)diazenyl]-1,3-naphthalenedisulfonate
• Scarlet 3R
• Ponceau 4 R
• Food red No.102
• Acid Red 18,
• AC1NSE7S
• AC1O4BTW
• 1,3-Naphthalenedisulfonic acid, 7-hydroxy-8-(2-(4-sulfo-1-naphthalenyl)diazenyl)-, sodium salt (1:3)
• EC 220-036-2
• Ponceau 4RC (E124)
• DTXSID9021213
• Ponceau 4R, analytical standard
• CTK4J4923
• CTK8I9811
• New Coccine, Dye content 75 %
• C20H11N2O10S3.3Na
• HY-D0193
• Ponceau 4R (C.I. 16255)
• AKOS000282867
• AKOS015903123
• AKOS024319577
• ACM2611827
• CS-5346
• LS-7686
• AN-18880
• C.I. Acid Red 18, trisodium salt (8CI)
• F0140
• N0309
• C20344
• J-016263
• I14-18670

References__________________________

(1) Xie Y, Li Y, Sun Y, Wang H, Qian H, Yao W. Theoretical calculation (DFT), Raman and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) study of ponceau 4R. Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2012 Oct;96:600-4. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2012.06.055. 

(2) Mizutani T. Toxicity of xanthene food dyes by inhibition of human drug-metabolizing enzymes in a noncompetitive manner. J Environ Public Health. 2009;2009:953952. doi: 10.1155/2009/953952. 

(3) Jorfi S, Barkhordari MJ, Ahmadi M, Jaafarzadeh N, Moustofi A, Ramavandi B. Photodegradation of Acid red 18 dye by BiOI/ZnO nanocomposite: A dataset. Data Brief. 2017 Nov 24;16:608-611. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2017.11.068.