Estimates of dietary exposure of children to artificial food colours in Kuwait

Author: Husain A.  

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

ISSN: 1464-5122

Source: Food Additives and Contaminants, Vol.23, Iss.3, 2006-03, pp. : 245-251

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

To assess the intake of artificial food colour additives by 5–14-year-old children in the State of Kuwait, a 24-h dietary recall was conducted twice on 3141 male and female Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti children from 58 schools. The determination of colour additives in 344 foods items consumed was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector. A comparison with the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) was undertaken to evaluate the potential risk associated with the consumption of artificial colour additives by children in Kuwait. The results indicated that out of nine permitted colours, four exceeded their ADIs by factors of 2–8: tartrazine, sunset yellow, carmoisine and allura red. Further, follow-up studies to provide insight into potential adverse health effects associated with the high intakes of these artificial colour additives on the test population are warranted.

Related content