Quinoline Yellow
E104
E104, INS 104, quinoline yellow, quinoline yellow WS, CI Food Yellow 13
What it is
Quinoline Yellow (E104 / INS 104) is a synthetic yellow food colour made as a mixture rather than one single compound.
Why BOTIA flags it
Quinoline Yellow is not a single compound but a mixture, so its composition matters when it is assessed. In the EU, foods containing it must carry a warning that it may affect activity and attention in children — a warning based on studies of colour mixtures, not Quinoline Yellow alone. EFSA cut its ADI from 10 to 0.5 mg/kg body weight in 2009 after new long-term animal data, and EU permitted levels were subsequently reduced or withdrawn for a number of food uses. It is not authorised for use in food in the United States. JECFA later set an ADI of 0–3 mg/kg and concluded that estimated dietary exposure does not present a health concern.
BOTIA CAN
- Detect E104, INS 104, Quinoline Yellow and its other declared names in the ingredient list.
- Explain that it is a mixture, the EU activity-and-attention warning, EFSA's 2009 ADI reduction, its US status and JECFA's current ADI.
BOTIA CANNOT
- Determine the composition of a particular Quinoline Yellow batch or how much is present from the ingredient list.
- Predict whether a particular child will show an effect or treat studies of colour mixtures as proof of an effect caused by Quinoline Yellow alone.