Annatto(E160b)
Level 3 — ContestedIn Winter's Dictionary2 sources
Annatto is a colorant — Yellow-pink natural vegetable dye and spice flavoring
Also: Bixa orellana, Bixin, Norbixin
What it does
Yellow-pink natural vegetable dye and spice flavoring
Where you'll see it
Dairy products, baked goods, margarine, breakfast cereals (2000 ppm), bologna and frankfurter casings
What the research says
Lack of toxicity data for bixin and norbixin; undergoing testing. JECFA recommended that populations with high intake be monitored and annatto extracts be reevaluated.
[ultra-processed-people] Plant-derived yellow colouring used since the original 1869 Mège-Mouriès margarine recipe. Identifies a product as UPF when used as a manufactured-colour replacement for the colour real food would have provided.
Regulatory status
- US FDA: ASP
- EU: approved
- Notes: Permanently listed 1963; certification not necessary
Sources
- Ultra-Processed People (van Tulleken) — Chapter 2: The invention of UPF: annatto (a yellow food colouring derived from seeds of the achiote tree)
- A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives (Winter): one of the most widely used colorings in the U.S. food supply, and because there is a lack of toxicity data for bixin and norbixin