also: Annatto extract · Bixin · Norbixin · Achiote
A seed extract that makes Red Leicester and Double Gloucester orange. A small number of people react to it, and it is not a labelled allergen.
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Potato Flakes, Starch, Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, Emulsifier (Lecithins), Sea Salt Seasoning [Sea Salt, Salt, Flavourings], Sunflower Oil, Colour (Annatto Norbixin)
In people sensitive to annatto, supervised eating tests have confirmed hives, swelling and, rarely, anaphylaxis.
UK supermarket foods that declare E160b: 635 of the 43,325 we checked (1.5%)
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. In people sensitive to annatto, supervised eating tests have confirmed hives, swelling and, rarely, anaphylaxis. Annatto is not one of the 14 allergens UK law makes labels declare, so it will not be highlighted.
Annatto is a pigment taken from the seeds of the annatto tree, which grows in Central and South America. It has two colouring parts: bixin, which dissolves in fat, and norbixin, which dissolves in water. They have different daily limits, and the EU now lists them separately as E160b(i) and E160b(ii).
Bixin and norbixin give food a yellow to orange colour. Makers pick the fat-soluble or water-soluble form to suit the food. The colour holds up at normal cooking temperatures.
Red Leicester, Double Gloucester, coloured Cheddar and Cheshire cheese, butter, margarine, smoked fish, breakfast cereals, savoury snacks, ready meals and some baking. UK labels call it annatto, annatto bixin, annatto norbixin, E160b, or colour (E160b(i)) or (E160b(ii)).
A small number of people react to annatto, from hives and swelling to, rarely, anaphylaxis. Some reactions are true immune allergies, probably to traces of seed protein rather than the pigment. A 1978 study found 26% of people with long-term hives reacted to it, but it had no dummy comparison. A 2021 case report confirmed a reaction with a dummy-controlled eating test.
A patient developed hives, swelling and a dangerous drop in blood pressure within 20 minutes of eating annatto dye. Antibodies to seed proteins in the extract were found, pointing to an immune allergy.
In a challenge study of 56 people with long-term hives, 26% reacted to the amount of annatto in 25g of butter. The study was not blinded and had no dummy comparison.
A dummy-controlled eating test confirmed annatto sensitivity in a patient, with hives as the main symptom.
European reviewers noted that two cases of anaphylaxis from eating annatto had been reported by 2016, and described severe reactions as rare but real.
In 2016 European reviewers could not rule out DNA damage, because of a lab test result. New tests in living rats, submitted in 2019, found no DNA damage in the liver or stomach at up to 2,000mg per kg of body weight a day.
Reviewers found weak positive signals in a lab DNA test and could not rule out DNA damage at that stage, and asked for a test in living animals.
Norbixin has a much lower daily limit than bixin. Estimates in 2017 and 2019 found the highest-consuming toddlers in some European countries reached the norbixin limit. The gap between the highest intakes and the limit is narrow.
Reviewers set the norbixin limit at 0.3mg per kg of body weight a day, against 6mg per kg for bixin.
For the top 5% of consumers, estimated norbixin intake reached the limit for toddlers and children in maximum-level scenarios in at least one EU country.
Daily limit. Bixin 6mg per kg of body weight a day, norbixin 0.3mg per kg (European reviewers, 2016, confirmed 2019).
People known to react to annatto should look for annatto, annatto bixin, annatto norbixin, E160b or colour (E160b(i)) or (E160b(ii)). It is not one of the 14 allergens UK law requires to be highlighted, so it will not stand out in bold. People with long-term hives may be more likely to react.
A small number of people, particularly those with long-term hives or an immune sensitivity to the seed proteins, have genuine allergic reactions, and because annatto is not a listed allergen it does not stand out on a label the way milk or nuts do. And norbixin has a low limit that the highest-consuming toddlers in some countries reached.
No. Annatto is an approved colour in the UK and EU. Labels may show E160b, or the newer split codes E160b(i) for annatto bixin and E160b(ii) for annatto norbixin.
Yes, in a small number of people. Recorded reactions include hives, swelling and, rarely, anaphylaxis, probably from traces of seed protein rather than the pigment. Annatto is not one of the 14 allergens that must be highlighted in UK law, so it appears only in the ingredients under its own name.
Most notably Red Leicester, Double Gloucester and coloured Cheddar, butter and margarine, some breakfast cereals, savoury snacks, smoked fish, ready meals and baking. Look for annatto, annatto bixin, annatto norbixin, or colour (E160b(i)) or (E160b(ii)).
Yes. It comes from the seeds of the annatto tree, with nothing from animals, unlike the insect-based red colour carmine (E120). The food it colours, such as cheese, may not be vegan.
Last reviewed: 9 November 2026
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