Food additive databasecolorChecked 2026-10-02

Food Red No.40 (Allura Red AC) and its Aluminum Lake 食用赤色40号（別名アルラレッドAC）及びそのアルミニウムレーキ

Designated additivePermitted in the EU (E129)EFSA ADI 7mg per kg body weight per day

Purpose: color
On the label: “着色料（赤40）” (coloring (Red 40)), “着色料（赤色40号）” (coloring (Red No. 40)), “赤色40号” (Red No. 40), “食用赤色40号” (Food Red No. 40), “着色料（アルラレッドAC）” (coloring (Allura Red AC))
Name in the List of Designated Additives: 食用赤色40号（別名アルラレッドAC）及びそのアルミニウムレーキ (No. 218)

In Japan

A tar-based dye, a designated additive used to color food, also called Allura Red AC. Under the standards for use, it may not be used in 18 kinds of food, including castella sponge cake (kasutera), soy sauce, miso, noodles, meat, fresh fish and shellfish, and vegetables (there is no upper limit on the amount for other foods).
Because it is a coloring, the purpose name must be written alongside. If the name contains the character “色”, as in “赤色40号” (Red No. 40), the word “着色料” (coloring) can be omitted, but with the short name “赤40” (Red 40) it is written “着色料（赤40）” (coloring (Red 40)) (Food Labeling Standards). The aluminum lake can also be written under names such as “赤色40号”, “赤40”, and “アルラレッドAC” (Allura Red AC).

Japan's standards for use

Foods in which it may not be used: castella sponge cake (kasutera), roasted soybean flour (kinako), pickled fish, pickled whale meat, kelp (kombu), soy sauce, meat, pickled meat, sponge cake
Foods in which it may not be used (continued): fresh fish and shellfish (including whale meat), tea, nori (laver), marmalade, legumes, miso, noodles (including wonton), vegetables, wakame
For foods other than the above, no upper limit on the amount used is set
The same standards apply to the aluminum lake

This is a summary of the standards for use. See the source list for the exact conditions.

In the EU

It is on the EU list of food additives (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II) as E129.
Its name in the EU is Allura Red AC (E129).
In the EU, foods containing this color must carry the statement “(name of the color or E number): may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children” (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex V; excluding use for inspection marking of meat or coloring of eggshells, and beverages with more than 1.2% alcohol).
In the EU, the foods in which it may be used and the maximum levels are set for each food category (Annex II, Part E). Japan's standards for use only specify foods in which it may not be used, and there is no upper limit on the amount.
In the EU, aluminum lakes may be used only in the food categories for which Annex II, Part E states a “limit on aluminum derived from the lake” (since August 2014; Annex II, Part A). In Japan, lakes can be used under the same standards for use as the dye.
In its 2013 evaluation, EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority) set an ADI (acceptable daily intake) of 7mg per kg of body weight per day (EFSA ANS).

When it is labeled under a shared name

Food Red No.40 (Allura Red AC) and its Aluminum Lake may be declared on the label in the same way as “合成着色料（タール色素）”. See Synthetic food colors (coal-tar dyes) for details.

Sources

Checked 2026-10-02. Rules and evaluations change over time. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.

This page lists facts stated in laws and in evaluations by public bodies; it is not a safety verdict. Additives used in Japan are approved by the government, which sets the foods and amounts they can be used in. The ADI is a guide to the amount that is considered safe to take every day over a lifetime.

Other substances used as color

← Back to the food additive database