What is it?
Allura Red AC is a man-made dark-red dye made from petroleum-based chemicals. It is an azo dye, one of the Southampton Six colours. In the US it is called Red 40 (FD&C Red No. 40).
Allura Red
also: Allura Red AC · FD&C Red No. 40 · Red 40 · Food Red 17
A synthetic red azo dye made from petroleum, used to colour food and drinks. One of the six colours required by UK law to carry a hyperactivity warning.
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Carbonated Water, Sucrose, Acid (Citric Acid), Flavourings, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrates), Preservatives (Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate), Caffeine (0.025%), Vitamins (B3, B6), Colour (E129)
E129
Allura Red
Linked to more hyperactivity in ordinary children, not only those with ADHD.
VeganVegetarian
UK supermarket foods that declare E129: 88 of the 43,325 we checked (0.2%)
Counted by its code or its name in the ingredient list.
Most of these labels print the code: 82% show “E129”.
Counted by NutraSafe from UK supermarket ingredient lists, September 2026. How we counted
How common it is in UK food, by aisle
- Soft drinks and juices34 products1.3% of 2,627
- Cakes, biscuits and desserts10 products0.3% of 3,715
- Alcoholic drinks9 products0.5% of 1,857
- Cupboard staples8 products0.4% of 1,936
What Allura Red is, what it does and where you will see it
Why it’s worth knowing. Linked to more hyperactivity in ordinary children, not only those with ADHD. Mouse research suggests eating it all the time may raise serotonin in the gut and make bowel inflammation more likely. Young children who eat a lot of it can go over the daily limit.
What does it do?
It is there only for colour, a bright red to orange-red. It adds no flavour, does not preserve and adds no nutrition. It holds its colour in light, heat and acid, which makes it reliable in factory-made food.
Where you will see it
Red sweets, chewing gum, fruit-flavoured drinks and squashes, some sports drinks, flavoured crisps, cereal bars, glacé cherries, jelly, some cakes and biscuits, and some ice creams. It is common in berry, cherry and strawberry fizzy drinks. UK labels call it Allura Red AC or E129.
What the science says
Linked to more hyperactivity in ordinary children, as part of a mixture
The 2007 University of Southampton trial, published in The Lancet, gave children aged 3 and 8 to 9 mixtures of six artificial colours, including E129, with the preservative sodium benzoate, or a dummy drink. The children were measurably more hyperactive after the colour mixes. The effect showed up in children in general, not only those already diagnosed with ADHD. Because the trial tested mixtures, it cannot say how much of the effect, if any, came from E129 alone.
Mixtures containing E129 and five other man-made colours, plus sodium benzoate, clearly increased hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-olds and 8 to 9-year-olds from the general population.
2007Randomised trial in peopleMcCann et al., The Lancet, Vol. 370, Issue 9598, pp. 1560-1567
Reviewers said the Southampton study gave some evidence of an effect on activity and attention in children, though the design could not separate out single dyes.
2009Regulator reviewEFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food, EFSA Journal
Made mice more prone to bowel inflammation when eaten constantly
A 2022 study from McMaster University in Canada fed mice Allura Red AC over a long period. Their bowels made more serotonin, the lining of the gut let more through, and they were more likely to develop bowel inflammation in a lab model of inflammatory bowel disease. This only happened with constant exposure, not now-and-then exposure. It was a mouse study.
Constant, but not occasional, exposure to Allura Red AC made mice more prone to bowel inflammation, by raising gut serotonin and weakening the gut lining.
2022Animal studyKwon, Banskota et al., Nature Communications
A review asks for proper cancer studies
A 2024 review in the journal Carcinogenesis said the substances gut bacteria break it into may be able to damage DNA, and called for proper cancer studies.
A review concluded that its effects on inflammation, gut bacteria and DNA-damage pathways make it "suspect and worthy of further molecular investigation". No studies focused on cancer have yet been done.
2024Review of studiesHofseth et al., Carcinogenesis, Vol. 45, Issue 10, p. 711, Oxford Academic
Children could go over the daily limit if every food held the legal maximum
In 2009 European reviewers found that children aged 1 to 10 who eat a lot of coloured food could go over the daily limit of 7mg per kg of body weight if every food held the legal maximum. So going over the limit matters most for children who have several E129 foods and drinks in a day.
With every food at the legal maximum, estimated intake in children aged 1 to 10 went over the daily limit of 7mg per kg of body weight.
2009Regulator reviewEFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food, EFSA Journal 1327
Where it stands with the regulators
Approved in the UK and the EU, with a compulsory warning label
Daily limit. 7mg per kg of body weight a day, about 490mg for a 70kg adult (international committee 1980, confirmed by European reviewers 2009).
- Legal basis
- On the Food Standards Agency's approved list for Great Britain. It shares a combined limit with some other colours.
- Permitted foods
- Flavoured soft drinks · Sweets · Decorations, coatings and fillings · Cakes and pastries · Ices · Flavoured processed cheese · Salmon and trout products (surface only) · Alcoholic drinks · Some snacks and crisps · Sauces, seasonings and condiments
- Maximum levels
- Usually 50 to 300mg per kg depending on the food, and up to 100mg per litre in soft drinks. It shares a combined limit with some other colours.
- History
- Approved across the EU from 1994. European reviewers re-checked it in 2009 after the 2007 Southampton study, and kept its daily limit. The Food Standards Agency asked UK makers to stop using it in 2008, and many changed their recipes. Since 20 July 2010 any food containing E129 must say it "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children". In the US, the FDA announced a voluntary phase-out of Red 40 by the end of 2026, though no formal federal ban had been published as of June 2026, and several US states have passed their own school food bans. It is fully approved in the UK and EU as of June 2026.
Who should be careful
Children with noticeable hyperactivity or attention problems may be worth watching, especially if they have several E129 foods and drinks in a day. Parents who want to cut down should check labels for Allura Red AC or E129. Anyone with an inflammatory bowel condition may want to know about the early mouse research. Allura Red is one of the Southampton Six, where the several-a-day question is set out.
The honest read
The hyperactivity link is the most established concern. It led to a compulsory warning label across the UK and EU, and the 2007 trial behind it was a proper randomised trial, not just an observed pattern. Its limit is that it tested six colours plus a preservative together, so it has not shown that E129 alone causes the effect.
The 2022 gut inflammation findings are striking, but they come from mice fed the dye all the time. The research is still going, and regulators have not restricted it beyond the warning label.
Common questions about Allura Red
Is E129 banned in the UK?
No. E129 is allowed in the UK, but any food or drink containing it must say it "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children". The Food Standards Agency asked makers to remove it in 2008, and many did, but it is still legal.
What is the hyperactivity warning on E129 foods?
UK and EU law requires any product containing E129 to print "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children", followed by the name or E number of the colour. It came into force in July 2010, after the 2007 University of Southampton trial published in The Lancet.
Is E129 harmful?
It is approved, with a daily limit of 7mg per kg of body weight and a legal children's behaviour warning. The trial behind the warning found more hyperactivity from a mixture of colours, so E129's own part is not known. Mice fed it constantly were more prone to bowel inflammation.
What foods contain E129?
It is most common in red or orange sweets, fruit-flavoured fizzy drinks and squashes, sports drinks, glacé cherries, jelly, some cereals, flavoured crisps and some biscuits and cakes. Labels call it Allura Red AC or E129.
Is E129 vegan?
The dye is made from petroleum-based chemicals and contains nothing from animals, and most vegan organisations treat it as vegan. It was tested on animals for its safety assessment, which some vegans object to.
Sources
- Approved additives and E numbers - Food Standards Agency
- E129 Allura Red AC - FSA Regulated Products Database
- McCann et al. - Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet, Vol. 370, pp. 1560-1567
- EFSA Panel on Food Additives - Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of Allura Red AC (E 129) as a food additive. EFSA Journal 2009; 7(11):1327
- EFSA - Refined exposure assessment for Allura Red AC (E 129). EFSA Journal 2015; 13(10):4007
- Kwon, Banskota et al. - Chronic exposure to synthetic food colorant Allura Red AC promotes susceptibility to experimental colitis via intestinal serotonin in mice. Nature Communications, 2022
- Hofseth et al. - Allura Red AC is a xenobiotic. Is it also a carcinogen? Carcinogenesis, Vol. 45, Issue 10, p. 711, 2024
- University of Southampton - Major study indicates a link between hyperactivity in children and certain food additives (2007 press release)
- EFSA - Evaluates Southampton study on food additives and child behaviour
Last reviewed: 9 November 2026
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