also: Turmeric yellow · CI 75300 · Natural Yellow 3 · Diferuloylmethane
The yellow of turmeric, extracted and used to colour mustard, margarine and soft drinks. The liver-injury cases are from high-dose supplements, which contain the same compound.
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Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Acid:Lactic Acid; Flavourings, Colours:Anthocyanins, Curcumin, Paprika Extract; Plant Concentrate:Spirulina Concentrate.
High-dose curcumin supplements, especially those with black pepper extract (piperine), have been linked to serious liver injury and at least one death.
UK supermarket foods that declare E100: 1,364 of the 43,325 we checked (3.1%)
Counted by its code or its name in the ingredient list.
Counted by NutraSafe from UK supermarket ingredient lists, September 2026. How we counted
Why it’s worth knowing. High-dose curcumin supplements, especially those with black pepper extract (piperine), have been linked to serious liver injury and at least one death. Children eating a lot of coloured food can reach or pass the daily limit. The compound in supplements and in E100 is the same.
Curcumin is the main pigment in turmeric. For food it is extracted from turmeric powder with solvents and crystallised into a concentrate that is at least 90% curcuminoids. It ranges from bright yellow to orange depending on how acidic the food is.
It gives food a warm golden colour and stays stable in acidic food. In supplements it acts on the body, including on liver chemistry and how iron is bound.
Mustard and mustard sauces, margarine and low-fat spreads, ice cream, soft drinks, cakes and pastries, jams, processed cheese, soups, seasonings, spice mixes and snacks. Labels call it curcumin, E100 or turmeric extract.
Concentrated curcumin supplements, especially those with piperine to boost absorption, have been linked to rare but serious liver injury. It happens unpredictably in a small number of people, possibly those with a particular gene variant, and cases got better when the supplement was stopped. The UK Committee on Toxicity reviewed the evidence and published its conclusion in December 2024.
The US Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network recorded 10 cases of liver injury linked to turmeric between 2004 and 2022, all after 2011. 5 people were admitted to hospital and 1 died of acute liver failure. Most cases involved supplements designed for high absorption.
21 cases of acute liver inflammation possibly linked to curcumin-piperine supplements were reported in Italy between December 2018 and July 2019.
The UK Committee on Toxicity concluded there is reasonable evidence of a causal link between turmeric supplements and liver toxicity. The reaction is unpredictable and linked in many cases to the HLA-B*35:01 gene variant.
Cases overwhelmingly involve concentrated curcumin extracts made for high absorption, including with piperine or tiny fat particles. About 10% of supplement cases with jaundice are fatal.
In 2014 European reviewers refined their estimate, because earlier figures suggested some children could go over the daily limit of 3mg per kg of body weight. Using real use levels, average intake in toddlers and children was below it, but the highest consumers in some countries reached or briefly went over it. Flavoured drinks and cakes were the main sources. Adults, teenagers and older people were below it in every scenario.
At the maximum permitted levels, estimated intake in children aged 1 to 10, at average and high levels, could go over the daily limit of 3mg per kg of body weight in some European countries.
Using real-world use levels, intake in the highest-consuming children and toddlers was at or near the limit in some surveys, mainly from flavoured drinks and cakes. Adults and teenagers were below it at all levels.
Lab tests have given mixed results: at high strengths, curcumin caused chromosome changes and DNA breaks in cells.
The international committee set a daily limit of 3mg per kg of body weight, based on a reproduction study.
At supplement doses, curcumin can interact with some medicines. The best recorded is warfarin: curcumin may slow how the body clears it, raising blood levels and bleeding risk. Lab evidence also points to interactions with some chemotherapy and diabetes drugs and with medicines processed by certain liver enzymes. Most of this evidence is case reports and lab tests, not trials.
Curcumin may slow the clearance of warfarin, and at least one case of raised INR has been recorded in someone taking both. The Welsh Medicines Advice Service flags it as a clinically relevant interaction that needs monitoring.
Curcumin mildly blocks the liver enzyme CYP3A4 and the transporter P-glycoprotein. Recorded interactions include 3.2 times higher blood levels of sulfasalazine and a case of tacrolimus toxicity after high turmeric intake.
The NutriNet-Santé study followed 108,723 French adults for about 8 years and tracked the colours in the packaged food they ate. People who ate the most curcumin (E100) were 49% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who ate little or none. It is about curcumin added as a colour, not turmeric used in cooking. This is one observational study.
Among 108,723 French adults followed from 2009 to 2023, higher intake of curcumin as a food colour was linked to a 49% higher risk of type 2 diabetes (hazard ratio 1.49).
Daily limit. 3mg per kg of body weight a day (international committee, 2004, kept by European reviewers in 2010).
People on warfarin or other blood thinners should avoid curcumin supplements and talk to their prescriber about eating a lot of turmeric, as curcumin can raise warfarin levels. People on tacrolimus, sulfasalazine or chemotherapy should get medical advice before taking supplements. People with liver or gallbladder disease should avoid concentrated curcumin supplements. Look for curcumin, E100 or turmeric extract on supplement labels.
The concern that surfaced from around 2018 is concentrated supplements, particularly with piperine or fat-particle delivery. The UK Committee on Toxicity concluded in December 2024 that there is reasonable evidence for a link with rare liver injury. Less settled is the DNA question: in 2010 European reviewers noted positive chromosome signals in lab tests and said their animal data could not fully rule them out, relying on cancer studies to set them aside, and that position has not been updated. Children eating a lot of coloured food can reach the limit.
No. Curcumin is an approved food colour in the UK and EU, in foods including drinks, cakes, ice cream and margarine.
Concentrated curcumin supplements, especially with black pepper extract (piperine) to boost absorption, have been linked to rare cases of serious liver injury. The US Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network recorded at least 10 cases between 2004 and 2022, including one death, and the UK Committee on Toxicity concluded in December 2024 there is reasonable evidence for the link.
Mustard, margarine, low-fat spreads, soft drinks, ice cream, cakes and pastries, jams, processed cheese, soups, seasonings and some sweets. Labels call it curcumin, E100 or turmeric extract.
Yes. It is extracted from turmeric root, a plant, with nothing from animals.
Last reviewed: 9 November 2026
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