CI 19140: What Does the Yellow Dye on Your Label Mean?
Arin Editorial · how this is made
You've seen 'CI 19140' on your shampoo or toothpaste ingredient list. This number refers to tartrazine, a synthetic yellow dye. It also appears as E102 on food labels.
What is it?
Tartrazine is a synthetic azo dye discovered in 1890. In cosmetics it is listed as CI 19140, in food as E102, and in the US as FD&C Yellow 5. It provides a consistent, bright yellow color.
Where is it found?
It is used as a colorant in many personal care products including soap, shampoo, toothpaste, mouthwash, lotion, and perfume. It is also present in food and beverages.
What do safety data say?
EPA screening assays found no effect on the estrogen receptor. Classification for skin and eye irritation was not possible; a skin sensitization test (LLNA) indicated it is not likely to be sensitizing. Genetic damage tests show both positive and negative results. This conflicting picture highlights the need to consider dose and exposure route.
Why is it controversial?
The claim that tartrazine causes hyperactivity in children has circulated for years. In 2007, a UK Southampton study examined the effect of a mixture of some food dyes; the results were debated. Austria and Germany once banned the dye, but the ban was lifted by an EU directive. Some lab studies report DNA damage, but these do not prove an effect in humans.
It is approved as a colorant in cosmetics in the EU and the US; restrictions are set by relevant regulations.
If you see CI 19140 on a label, it is an approved colorant. If you have a history of allergic reactions, try the product on a small skin area first.
Sources
- SCCS (EU 1223/2009 Annex III)
- EPA ToxCast
- EPA ToxValDB
- CosmiLEurope
- European Parliament Directive 94/36/EC
- Southampton University (2007)