E120

Carmine (Cochineal, Carminic Acid)

Last reviewed: 11 May 2026

A red colour extracted from cochineal insects — and a recognised allergen.

What it is

E120 is the colour-extract family known as carmines or cochineal extract. The pigment is carminic acid, harvested from the dried bodies of female cochineal scale insects (Dactylopius coccus), which feed on prickly pear cacti in Peru, Mexico and the Canary Islands. The dried insects are crushed and the carminic acid is extracted in water or aqueous alcohol and then purified. The pigment is heat-stable and pH-stable, which is why a manufacturer chooses it over fruit- or vegetable-derived alternatives such as beetroot or anthocyanin extracts: those fade or shift colour under heat or in acidic drinks; carmine doesn't.

You will see it labelled on a UK pack as one of several interchangeable names, all referring to the same insect-derived colour:

• Carmine or carmines — the pigment extract
• Cochineal or cochineal extract — names for the source preparation
• Carminic acid — the active colouring molecule
• Natural Red 4 — an alternative international name
• E120 — the EU/UK additive code

"Natural colour" or "colouring" on its own is not enough — UK labelling must name the additive or its E-number, so if a red product contains carmine you should see one of the names above.

Where you'll see it on a UK label

Carmine turns up across red, pink and burgundy foods where a stable colour is needed:

• Strawberry- and raspberry-coloured yoghurts, drinkable yoghurts and smoothies
• Red fruit drinks and squashes (cranberry, cherry, pomegranate ranges)
• Red sweets and confectionery — jellies, gums, hard candies
• Strawberry, raspberry and cherry ice creams and ice lollies
• Pink and red cake decorations, icing and royal icing
• Some cured and emulsified meats — salamis, chorizo-style products, certain sausages
• Bitter aperitifs and red liqueurs (historically Campari, before reformulation to a plant-derived colour)
• Cosmetics — lipsticks, blushers, eye products (regulated separately, but the same pigment)

What the science shows

Allergy: a documented immediate-hypersensitivity trigger

Carmine is one of the small number of food colours with a published, mechanism-level allergy literature. The recognised mechanism is IgE-mediated immediate hypersensitivity to residual cochineal proteins that travel with the pigment through extraction. The clinical picture spans:

• Anaphylaxis — case reports describe breathing difficulty, throat tightness, hives, drop in blood pressure and loss of consciousness, with onset within minutes of ingestion. Treatment is intramuscular adrenaline.
• Occupational asthma in workers handling carmine powder at the dye-production and food-manufacturing stage, where airborne particles trigger the same sensitisation route.
• Cross-reactivity with other insect allergens. People sensitised to chironomid midges or to insect-handling occupations are over-represented in published carmine-reaction series.

The reactions are uncommon in the general population but are clinically real, often severe in those affected, and not predictable from a person's reaction to other red colourings (carmine reactions are independent of azo-dye sensitivity). If you have a documented reaction to a red-coloured food, log it and take the record to a GP or allergist — we are a tracking tool, not a diagnostic one.

EFSA 2024 re-evaluation

EFSA re-evaluated cochineal extract, carminic acid and carmines in 2024 as part of the rolling review of older food colours. The 2024 opinion maintained the existing acceptable daily intake of 5mg carminic acid/kg body weight per day and flagged the allergen-risk question for continued surveillance. The colouring matter remained authorised for the same UK and EU food uses.

Vegetarian, vegan and religious dietary status

Carmine is an insect-derived pigment and is therefore not vegetarian or vegan by UK Vegan Society and Vegetarian Society definitions. Halal and kosher acceptability is mixed: some Islamic scholars permit insect-derived ingredients, others do not; mainstream kosher certifying bodies do not certify cochineal-containing foods as kosher. Because UK labels list the additive but not its acceptability under religious certification, the practical signal is the certification mark itself — a Vegetarian Society, Vegan Society or halal/kosher logo on the pack indicates the product does not use carmine.

Reading a UK label

If you need to avoid carmine, look in the ingredients list for any of E120, carmine, carmines, carminic acid, cochineal, cochineal extract or Natural Red 4. Pink and red yoghurts, drinks and sweets are the higher-yield categories to check. Plant-derived alternatives — anthocyanins (E163) from berries or red cabbage, beetroot red (E162), paprika extract (E160c), tomato lycopene (E160d) — are increasingly used on "no artificial colours" or "vegan" lines as a replacement, but presence of a natural-source alternative is not guaranteed unless the pack is certified.

Regulatory status

UK and EU: authorised as E120 with a group ADI of 5mg carminic acid/kg body weight per day. Listed in Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 with permitted uses across confectionery, dairy, meat and beverage categories.

United States: authorised by the FDA. Since 2009, US labels must declare "cochineal extract" or "carmine" by name — a generic "colour added" is no longer sufficient.

Allergen-labelling status: carmine is not on the UK's 14 mandatory allergen list, so bold-type emphasis is not required — but it must be named in the ingredients list above the standard additive threshold.

Last updated: 11 May 2026