A Survey on the Use of Synthetic and Natural Fruit Colures in non-certified Juice and Fruit Products in Tehran, Iran

Background and Adding coloring agents in food and beverages could cause asthma, urticarial, hyperactivity in children, lower immune system function, Anaphylaxis, and carcinogenicity. The present study was carried out to detect the type of food colures in various traditionally prepared juices and fruit products in non-certified products in Tehran, Iran. A total of 208 samples of various types of fruit products were analyzed by Thin Layer Chromatography for isolation and identification of the added synthetic or natural food colures. Thin layer chromatography revealed that the majority of analyzed samples (55%) contained non-permitted food colures and the most non-permitted colures were found in (48.3%) north of Tehran. Among the permitted and non-permitted colures the most prevalent were Carmoisine and Tarterazine (4.62%), respectively. Combination of Carmoisine and Sunset yellow were the most mixed colors used in studied samples. Moreover, this study revealed that all of the non-certified fruit juice samples contained different additive colures. The fruit leather also contained high level (68.92%) of food color. This study showed high amount of non-permitted food colures especially in non-certified fruit products. Hence, constant vigilance is needed to ensure that allowable level of coloring agents are used in such products. Moreover, producers should be informed of the health risks involved in using these additives.