Ingredient register

Carmoisine

Limit Artificial additive Food and drink E122 INS 122 CAS 3567-69-9

Decode Label flags Carmoisine as a moderate concern in food and drink (artificial additive). It appears in 3 of the 912 published products we have analysed (0.3%).

The concern

Synthetic azo colour - EU requires a child-activity warning on the pack

Carmoisine (E122) is a synthetic azo dye. It is one of six colours in the Southampton study whose mixtures were associated with increased hyperactivity in children, and the EU requires foods containing it to carry the warning "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children". It adds colour only - no nutritional or technological benefit.

Most relevant to

Children People prone to allergies

Cited authority

EU Regulation 1333/2008 Annex V (mandatory warning: "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children"); McCann et al., Lancet 2007; EFSA re-evaluation of food colours (2009)

Linked sources: EU-CosIng → EU →

How common it is in this catalogue

Measured across every product Decode Label has analysed — not estimated, and not taken from anyone else's dataset.

3 of 912 published products 0.3%

By category

Food 3

Regulatory position

From the published regulation itself. Each row links to its source.

Authority	Status	Reference	Scope / limit	Source
EU-CosIng	Permitted	Annex IV 19	—	View →

Hazard classification

EU EU Reg. 1333/2008 Annex V — mandatory warning Behavioural route: oral 2026-08-01 source →

Applies to food and drink containing this colour.

EU EU Reg. 1333/2008 Annex V — mandatory warning Behavioural route: oral 2026-08-01 source →

Applies to food and drink containing this colour.

Identity

Canonical name: Azorubine
CAS number: 3567-69-9
EC number: 222-657-4
E number: E122
INS number: 122

Also appears on labels as

Azorubine Food Red 3 CI 14720

Questions

Is Carmoisine safe?

EU: EU Reg. 1333/2008 Annex V — mandatory warning. Why it is flagged: Synthetic azo colour - EU requires a child-activity warning on the pack. Decode Label treats it as a moderate concern in food and drink. It appears in 3 of the 912 published products we have analysed (0.3%).

How common is Carmoisine in Indian packaged products?

Decode Label found Carmoisine in 3 of 912 published products (0.3%), most often in Food.

Which authorities have classified Carmoisine?

EU — EU Reg. 1333/2008 Annex V — mandatory warning.

Is Carmoisine restricted or banned anywhere?

Under the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (CosIng), Carmoisine has 1 permitted entry. Each is shown with its annex reference and a link to the source in the Regulatory position table.

Who should be most careful with Carmoisine?

Children; People prone to allergies.

Products containing Carmoisine

3 published products, each with its own full analysis.

Haldiram's Nagpur Orange Burfee Ice Cream Mix Strawberry Flavour Unibic Qubz Strawberry Wafer 0% Maida

Related ingredients

Other entries in the register with the same kind of concern.

Allura Red AC Ponceau 4R Quinoline Yellow Sunset Yellow FCF Tartrazine Acesulfame Potassium

Method and limits

Prevalence counts published products whose decoded ingredient list matches this substance or one of its label synonyms, using the same matching the score itself uses. It describes our catalogue of 912 products, not the Indian market as a whole.
Presence is not dose. An ingredient list gives order, not quantity, unless the pack declares a percentage. Nothing here estimates how much of this substance any product contains.
A classification is not a verdict on a product. An agency classifies a substance under defined conditions of exposure; whether that matters in a given food or cosmetic depends on route, concentration and use.
Last updated. This register entry was last changed on 3 November 2026.
Corrections. Every figure here is reproducible from the sources named. If something is wrong, tell us and we will correct it and say what changed.