Carotenes (mixed)
Natural orange-yellow pigments from carrots, algae and palm fruit, used to colour food. Also a precursor to vitamin A in the body.
High-dose beta-carotene supplements raise lung cancer risk in heavy smokers and asbestos-exposed workers. This risk is tied to concentrated supplement doses, not the small amounts used as a food colouring.
What is it?
Mixed carotenes (E160a(i)) are a blend of carotenoid pigments extracted from plant sources including carrots, palm fruit and green algae such as Dunaliella salina. Beta-carotene is the dominant component, alongside alpha-carotene and other carotenoids. The closely related E160a(ii) is a purified synthetic or vegetable-derived beta-carotene. Both are fat-soluble and produce orange-to-yellow hues. The body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A (retinol) as needed.
What does it do?
Acts as a yellow-to-orange food colourant. Because it is fat-soluble, it dissolves into oils and fats in the product matrix. It is unstable in light, so foods can fade on shelf. As a provitamin A carotenoid, once absorbed the intestinal enzyme BCMO1 converts it to retinol; conversion is down-regulated when vitamin A stores are adequate, so dietary beta-carotene does not cause vitamin A toxicity.
Where you will see it
Used in margarine, spreads and butter substitutes to give their characteristic yellow colour; processed and melted cheese; flavoured yogurts and dairy desserts; edible ices; soft drinks and squashes; confectionery; bakery products and biscuits; and powdered drink mixes and soups. On a UK ingredient label it appears as 'carotenes', 'mixed carotenes', 'beta-carotene' or as the E number E160a.
What the science says
High-dose supplements and lung cancer in smokers
Two large randomised controlled trials found that heavy smokers and asbestos-exposed workers taking beta-carotene supplements at doses of 20-30mg a day had significantly more lung cancer cases and deaths than those on a placebo. The ATBC study recorded an 18% increase in lung cancer incidence; the CARET trial was stopped early because the active group had 28% more lung cancers and 17% more deaths. These dose levels are far above what food colouring contributes. EFSA's 2024 opinion concluded that no tolerable upper intake level could be set for supplemental beta-carotene because the dose-response could not be adequately characterised, and it explicitly recommends that smokers avoid beta-carotene food supplements.
Male smokers given 20mg beta-carotene daily had an 18% higher lung cancer incidence compared with placebo over a median 6.1 years.
Smokers and asbestos-exposed workers given 30mg beta-carotene plus vitamin A daily had 28% more lung cancer cases and 17% more deaths; the trial was stopped early.
EFSA concluded no tolerable upper intake level could be set for supplemental beta-carotene because the lung-cancer dose-response data were insufficient; it recommended smokers avoid supplements containing beta-carotene.
Food-sourced beta-carotene and the same risk
The lung cancer findings in ATBC and CARET are specific to high supplemental doses. Both EFSA (2024) and observational data consistently find no adverse health signal from beta-carotene consumed through ordinary food. Dietary carotenoid intake is associated with lower, not higher, lung cancer risk in non-supplement users. The 2012 EFSA re-evaluation concluded that use as a food colour is not of concern provided total intake from food colouring plus supplements stays within the range typically obtained from a carotenoid-rich diet, estimated at 5-10mg per day.
EFSA concluded that use as a food colour is not of safety concern provided intake from this use plus supplements does not exceed 5-10mg per day, equivalent to normal dietary intake from carotenoid-rich foods.
No indication was found that beta-carotene intake from the background diet is associated with adverse health effects.
Higher dietary beta-carotene in men not taking supplements was associated with lower lung cancer risk in the ATBC cohort.
No ADI set, and what that means
Regulators have not assigned a numerical acceptable daily intake to mixed carotenes or beta-carotene as food colours. This is not because of unresolved toxicity but because intake from food colouring at permitted quantum satis levels falls well within what people naturally eat in a diet containing orange and yellow vegetables. The additive sits in Group II (food colours authorised at quantum satis) under UK and EU rules.
No numerical ADI was established for mixed carotenes or beta-carotene as food colours; EFSA concluded that use within natural dietary intake equivalents is not of concern.
Carotenodermia at very high intake
Consuming very large amounts of carotenoids over weeks, typically well above 20mg per day, can cause carotenodermia: a harmless yellowing of the skin, especially on palms and soles. It reverses when intake falls. This is not toxic and does not indicate vitamin A toxicity, because the body regulates the conversion of beta-carotene to retinol.
Beta-carotene does not cause vitamin A toxicity because intestinal BCMO1 enzyme activity is down-regulated when retinol stores are adequate, limiting conversion.
Where it stands with the regulators
Who should be careful
Heavy smokers and people with significant occupational asbestos exposure who also take beta-carotene supplements should take particular note: regulators recommend avoiding high-dose beta-carotene supplements in these groups. The amounts from food colouring alone are much smaller than supplement doses and are not the subject of this warning. Look for 'beta-carotene', 'mixed carotenes' or 'E160a' in supplement ingredient lists, not food ingredient lists, when assessing supplement intake.
The honest read
The science here has two clearly distinct chapters. Beta-carotene in food, including as a colourant, carries no demonstrated health signal at the levels involved. Beta-carotene in high-dose supplements is a different matter: two large, well-designed trials found meaningfully higher lung cancer rates in smokers taking them, and both the 2012 and 2024 EFSA opinions reflect that. Regulators have not set a numerical safe upper limit for supplements because they could not pin down the dose-response curve with enough precision, which itself signals that the answer is not straightforward. The distinction between food and supplements is real and matters here, but it is worth knowing that this additive and its supplement cousin are the same molecule at higher doses.
Related additives
Common questions
Is E160 banned in the UK?
No. E160a (carotenes, including mixed carotenes and beta-carotene) is an approved food additive in the UK under the retained EU Regulation 1333/2008 Annex II, authorised at quantum satis (no fixed maximum level) across a wide range of food categories.
Does beta-carotene in food cause cancer?
Trials in heavy smokers found that high-dose beta-carotene supplements (20-30mg per day) increased lung cancer risk. Both EFSA (2024) and the available observational data find no equivalent signal from dietary beta-carotene, including from food colours. The concern is specific to concentrated supplement doses in people who smoke heavily.
What foods contain E160?
Margarine, processed and melted cheese, flavoured yogurts, ice cream, soft drinks, squashes, confectionery, bakery products, biscuits, soup powders and powdered drink mixes are among the most common. On the label look for 'carotenes', 'mixed carotenes', 'beta-carotene' or 'E160a'.
Is E160 vegan?
The pigment itself is plant-derived (from carrots, palm fruit or algae), so it is vegan in origin. However, some commercial preparations of water-dispersible beta-carotene use gelatine (from cattle or pigs) as a carrier; this is an industry practice noted in food additive technical literature, not a requirement of the regulatory specifications. The ingredient label will not disclose which carrier was used. If vegan status matters to you, check whether the finished product carries a certified vegan label.
Sources
- UK FSA: Approved additives and E numbers - E160a Carotenes
- EFSA Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of mixed carotenes (E160a(i)) and beta-carotene (E160a(ii)) as a food additive, EFSA Journal 2012;10(3):2593
- EFSA Scientific Opinion on the tolerable upper intake level for preformed vitamin A and beta-carotene, EFSA Journal 2024
- ATBC Cancer Prevention Study Group: The effect of vitamin E and beta carotene on the incidence of lung cancer and other cancers in male smokers, New England Journal of Medicine 1994
- Omenn et al. (CARET): Effects of a combination of beta carotene and vitamin A on lung cancer and cardiovascular disease, New England Journal of Medicine 1996
- Investigating the relationship between beta-carotene intake from diet and supplements, smoking, and lung cancer risk, Food and Chemical Toxicology 2024
- Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center: Carotenoids
- Food Standards Agency: Approved additives and E numbers (main page)
- FAO/WHO JECFA Compendium of Food Additive Specifications: beta-carotene
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