also: Carmine · Cochineal extract · Carminic acid · Natural Red 4
A red dye made from crushed insects, used in strawberry yoghurts and pink sweets. It is not vegetarian, and it can cause severe allergic reactions.
Scan a barcode to check a food for cochineal. NutraSafe Pro · £6.99/month · iPhone and Android
Chicken Thigh (94%), Sugar, Fructose, Cornflour, Garlic Powder, Tomato Powder, Onion Powder, Salt, Colours (Beetroot Red, Carmine, Paprika Extract), Aniseed, Fennel Seed, Yeast Extract, Star Anise, Cinnamon, Black Pepper, Clove.
It can cause allergic reactions including hives, asthma and anaphylaxis, sometimes from very small amounts.
UK supermarket foods that declare E120: 237 of the 43,325 we checked (0.5%)
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. It can cause allergic reactions including hives, asthma and anaphylaxis, sometimes from very small amounts. People allergic to house dust mites or shellfish may also react. It is not suitable for vegetarians or vegans.
Carminic acid is extracted from dried, crushed female cochineal insects, scale insects farmed on prickly pear cactus in South America and the Canary Islands. The extract is purified into carminic acid or turned into aluminium or calcium salts called carmines.
Carminic acid binds tightly to protein and aluminium, giving a deep red to purplish-red colour that stands up to heat and light. In food it gives a bright, natural-looking red or pink that does not fade over the shelf life.
Strawberry, raspberry and cherry yoghurts, red and pink sweets and gummies, flavoured milk drinks, some flavoured wines and fruit alcoholic drinks, lumpfish roe and imitation caviar, cocktail cherries, and some ice creams and sorbets. UK labels call it E120, carminic acid or carmines. The word cochineal has not been allowed on UK food labels since October 2019.
Carmine carries proteins from the insect that can make the immune system react. Case reports since the 1990s describe anaphylaxis after eating carmine-coloured yoghurt, ice lollies and alcoholic drinks. In one case, as little as 1mg set off a reaction. The trigger is the insect protein, not the red pigment itself.
Anaphylaxis after eating carmine-coloured yoghurt was shown to be an immune (IgE) reaction by skin prick and blood tests. One person reacted to 1mg of carmine.
Anaphylaxis from an ice lolly was confirmed as an allergy to carmine by skin prick testing, and insect proteins, not carminic acid, were identified as the trigger.
Among 110 people with hives or suspected additive reactions, 8% (9 people) had carmine allergy confirmed by eating it under supervision. All had a long-term type of hives set off by things like pressure or cold.
Workers who breathe in carmine dust in dye, food or cosmetics factories often become sensitised, and some develop work-related asthma. In one factory, over 40% of current workers were sensitised and 8% had asthma. Counting workers who had already left because of illness, the asthma rate was higher. The same insect protein drives both the breathing allergy and the food allergy.
In a natural dye factory, 41.7% of current workers had positive skin tests to carmine and 8.3% had work-related asthma. Including three former workers who had left, sensitisation rose to 48.1% and asthma to 18.5%.
Carmine is a confirmed skin and breathing sensitiser, and European reviewers concluded that breathing it in during handling is very likely.
Cochineal insects are relatives of dust mites and shellfish, so some researchers thought carmine allergy depended on being allergic to those. Studies found dust mite allergy is common in people allergic to carmine, but carmine reactions can happen without it. Newer tests using purified carminic acid avoid the confusion.
Of 3,164 people skin-tested, 94 (3%) reacted to carmine. 74% of those also reacted to dust mites, but reactions after eating did not depend on mite allergy in 42% of cases, and about a quarter had carmine allergy with no mite allergy at all.
Standard tests for cochineal allergy are confused by cross-reactions with shellfish and dust mites. Tests using carminic acid give a much more specific diagnosis.
Both the international committee and European reviewers set a daily limit of 5mg of carmine per kg of body weight. That limit is about toxicity, not allergy. Someone who is allergic can react to far less.
A long-term rat study found no harm at 500mg of carmine per kg of body weight a day.
The international committee confirmed a daily limit of 5mg per kg of body weight for carmines, but set none for cochineal extract because the data were not enough at the time.
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 cochineal and carmines (E120) were 27% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who ate little or none. This is one observational study.
Among 108,723 French adults followed from 2009 to 2023, higher intake of cochineal and carmines as a food colour was linked to a 27% higher risk of type 2 diabetes (hazard ratio 1.27).
Daily limit. 5mg of carmine per kg of body weight a day, about 2.5mg of carminic acid per kg (European reviewers, 2015, and the international committee).
Anyone with a known allergy to carmine, cochineal or related insect proteins should avoid it. People with long-term hives set off by pressure or cold are at higher risk of reacting. People with dust mite or shellfish allergies may also be sensitised, though the link is not straightforward. Vegetarians and vegans avoid it because it comes from insects, and most halal and kosher certifiers reject it. On a UK label look for E120, carminic acid or carmines.
The allergy evidence for carmine is consistent across decades of case reports, supervised eating tests and workplace studies, and reactions range from hives to full anaphylaxis. What is less certain is how common sensitisation is in the general population, because most people studied were already attending allergy clinics. The insect protein causes the allergy, while the red pigment itself appears not to, which matters for diagnosis but not for avoiding it on a label. The 5mg per kg daily limit is about toxicity and sets no threshold for people who are allergic.
No. E120 is approved in the UK, with set maximum levels for each food. Only the label word cochineal was dropped in October 2019. The additive itself is still allowed.
Yes. Published case reports and challenge studies describe anaphylaxis from carmine in food and drink, in one case from as little as 1mg. The trigger is insect protein, not the pigment. People who have reacted should treat carmine as a serious allergen.
Strawberry, raspberry and cherry yoghurts most often. Also red and pink sweets, gummies, some flavoured milk drinks, flavoured wines and fruit alcoholic drinks, lumpfish roe, imitation caviar and cocktail cherries. Look for E120, carminic acid or carmines.
No. It is extracted from dried, crushed female cochineal insects, so it is not vegan or vegetarian. Most halal certifiers reject it as insect-derived, though scholars disagree, and it is generally not considered kosher. Beetroot red (E162) is a common plant-based alternative.
Last reviewed: 9 November 2026
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