Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Erythrosine (E127)

Erythrosine (E127) is one of the markers Open Food Facts uses to classify a food as ultra-processed (NOVA group 4).

What it is and why it counts

Erythrosine is a synthetic red dye (FD&C Red No. 3 in the US). The US Food and Drug Administration revoked its authorisation for food in January 2025, giving manufacturers until January 2027 to reformulate.

Cosmetic additives

NOVA calls these additives "cosmetic": they change how a product looks, feels or tastes rather than keeping it safe to eat. Their presence is one of the two defining signs of an ultra-processed food.

Function

Colour
Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.

Functional class definitions from the EU food additives regulation, via Open Food Facts.

More about erythrosine (E127) on Wikidata

Where it turns up

Erythrosine (E127) appears in 27 of the 40,000 products on this site (0%).

Products containing erythrosine (E127)

How the NOVA classification works