FD&C Red 40 is a synthetic chemical, azo derivative, water-soluble dye, referred to by many synonyms, of which the most common is Allura Red 40 or Allura Red AC and is among the most widely used dyes in the world.
It occurs as a fine red powder. Soluble in water and ethanol.
It contains the azo group, which is the largest group of colours and accounts for more than half of global colour production. In food it is labelled as E129 on the European Food Additives List and is subject to an Acceptable Daily Intake of 0.7 mg/kg body weight (1).
Industrial dyes, which are used to colour food, drink, meat, sweets, hair dyes, face and body care cosmetics, fall into two categories:
- natural compounds or additives derived from the natural ingredient (i)
- synthetic chemicals (ii)
Safety
Some countries have regulated and, in some cases, banned the use of Allura red in food and beverages. Currently
There is no consensus in the scientific literature that Allura Red is genotoxic. In vivo tests on laboratory animals have provided conflicting results (2).
CI 16035 Allura red studies
Optimal typical characteristics of the commercial product Allura Red
| Appearance | Fine red powder |
| Boiling Point |
|
| Melting Point | 300ºC |
| PSA | 185.34000 |
| LogP | 5.24760 |
| Arsenic | ≤ 0.0001% |
| Insoluble matter in water | ≤ 0.2% |
| Lead | ≤ 0.001% |
Heavy metal (calculated by Pb)
| ≤ 0.002% |
| Ether extraction | 0.2% max |
| Dye intermediates | 0.5% max |
| Loss on drying at 135°C, chlorides, sulphates | 13% max |
| Mercury | <1 ppm |
- Molecular Formula : C18H14N2Na2O8S2
- Molecular Weight : 496.42
- Exact mass 495.998688
- CAS : 25956-17-6
- UNII WZB9127XOA
- EC Number 247-368-0
- DSSTox Substance ID DTXSID4024436
- MDL number MFCD00059526
- PubChem Substance ID 24869338
- InChI=1S/C18H16N2O8S2.2Na/c1-10-7-14(16(28-2)9-17(10)30(25,26)27)19-20-18-13-5-4-12(29(22,23)24)8-11(13)3-6-15(18)21;;/h3-9,21H,1-2H3,(H,22,23,24)(H,25,26,27);;/q;2*+1/p-2
- InChl Key CEZCCHQBSQPRMU-UHFFFAOYSA-L
- SMILES CC1=CC(=C(C=C1S(=O)(=O)[O-])OC)N=NC2=C(C=CC3=C2C=CC(=C3)S(=O)(=O)[O-])O.[Na+].[Na+]
- IUPAC disodium;6-hydroxy-5-[(2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfonatophenyl)diazenyl]naphthalene-2-sulfonate
- ChEBI 172687
- NACRES NA.47
Synonyms :
- Allura Red AC
- Allura Red 40
- FDC Red 40
- Red No. 40
- Allura red AC dye
- C.I. Food Red 17
- Food red 17
- Food Red No. 40
- FD&C Red No. 40
- Disodium 6-hydroxy-5-((6-methoxy-4-sulfo-m-tolyl)azo)-2-naphthalenesulfonate
- 2-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 6-hydroxy-5-((6-methoxy-4-sulfo-m-tolyl)azo)-, disodium salt
- Disodium 6-hydroxy-5-((2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)azo)-2-naphthalenesulfonate
References________________________________________________________________________
(1) Rovina K, Siddiquee S, Shaarani SM. Extraction, Analytical and Advanced Methods for Detection of Allura Red AC (E129) in Food and Beverages Products. Front Microbiol. 2016 May 27;7:798. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00798.
(2) Tsuda S, Murakami M, Matsusaka N, Kano K, Taniguchi K, Sasaki YF. DNA damage induced by red food dyes orally administered to pregnant and male mice. Toxicol Sci. 2001 May;61(1):92-9. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/61.1.92.
Ferrer Amate C, Unterluggauer H, Fischer RJ, Fernández-Alba AR, Masselter S. Development and validation of a LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of aflatoxins, dyes and pesticides in spices. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2010 May;397(1):93-107. doi: 10.1007/s00216-010-3526-x.
Honma M. Evaluation of the in vivo genotoxicity of Allura Red AC (Food Red No. 40). Food Chem Toxicol. 2015 Oct;84:270-5. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2015.09.007.
FD&C Red 40 
2-Naphthalenesulfonic acid
