Allura Red AC
Allura Red AC (E129) is a synthetic red azo dye used in sweets, drinks, and desserts. It is one of the six "Southampton" colours the EU requires to carry a warning about possible effects on children’s activity and attention.
Allura Red AC (E129, "FD&C Red 40" in the US) is a synthetic azo dye used as a red food colour. EFSA has reviewed its safety and set an acceptable daily intake.
As one of the six colours covered by the Southampton study, foods containing E129 must carry the EU children’s activity-and-attention warning under Regulation 1333/2008. Like other azo dyes it may occasionally provoke pseudo-allergic reactions in sensitive individuals.
On the label
- E-number
- E129
- INS number
- INS 129
- Functional class
- Colour
- Also known as
- FD&C Red 40 · Allura Red · Colour 129 · INS 129
Who this affects
Caution
- Children: EU law requires a label warning that it "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children."
Frequently asked questions
No. Allura Red AC is authorised in the EU under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, subject to maximum levels and a mandatory child-activity warning label. In the US it is approved as FD&C Red No. 40, but in April 2025 the FDA announced it is working with industry to voluntarily phase out Red No. 40 and other petroleum-based dyes by the end of 2026 — a phase-out rather than a formal ban.
The 2007 “Southampton study” (McCann et al.) linked a mixture of six colours including Allura Red, plus a preservative, to increased hyperactivity in some children. EFSA found the evidence limited and could not single out Allura Red, so it did not change the additive’s safety limits, though the EU still requires a precautionary warning label. Evidence on any specific link to ADHD remains mixed and uncertain.
It is synthetic. Allura Red AC is a man-made azo dye made from petroleum- or coal-derived chemicals (historically from coal tar), and it is the same substance certified in the US as FD&C Red No. 40. It is not a natural colour.
By composition, yes — Allura Red is a synthetic dye made from petrochemical raw materials with no animal-derived ingredients, so it is generally considered suitable for a vegan diet. Some strict vegans still avoid synthetic dyes because additives are subject to animal safety testing. (Note: the red colour carmine / E120 is different and is insect-derived.)
EFSA re-evaluated Allura Red in 2009 and concluded that the existing Acceptable Daily Intake (0–7 mg per kg of body weight per day) did not need to be changed, noting the colour was not genotoxic or carcinogenic in the studies reviewed. This is regulatory information about population-level safety limits, not a personal health judgement.
Allura Red gives a red colour and is common in soft drinks, sweets and confectionery, snacks, desserts, jellies and some sauces and condiments. In the EU it must be labelled as “Allura Red AC” or “E129” with the children’s activity/attention warning, so the ingredient list is the reliable way to check.
Yes — it contains no animal-derived material. It is a synthetic azo dye made from petroleum-derived precursors. Some vegans still avoid synthetic azo colours because of the animal testing behind their safety assessments. The same applies to a vegetarian diet.
Yes — the additive itself contains no gluten. A gluten-free claim belongs to the finished product, though — check the pack, not the additive.
It is a synthetic azo dye made from petroleum-derived precursors and contains no animal-derived material, so the additive itself is not inherently non-halal. Certification applies to a finished product rather than to an additive, so a halal certification mark on the pack is the authoritative signal.
Allura Red AC is authorised in the EU and EFSA has set an acceptable daily intake for it. Foods containing it must carry the children's activity-and-attention warning required for the six Southampton colours, and azo dyes are associated with pseudo-allergic reactions in a small number of sensitive people.