Erythrosine (Red No. 3) (E127)

Names on a label

• E127
• E 127
• Erythrosine (Red No. 3)
• FD&C RED NO. 3
• RED 3
• RED No. 3
• FD&C RED 3
• Erythrosine
• Erythrosin
• 赤藓红
• 赤藓红钠
• Eritrosina

Labels outside Europe often print the number on its own, without the E.

What it’s used for

The FDA lists these uses in food: color or coloring adjunct; solvent or vehicle.¹

What regulators and scientists say

• The FDA revoked its authorization for use in food in January 2025. For food, the order takes effect on January 15, 2027.²
• EFSA set an acceptable daily intake of 0.1 mg per kilogram of body weight per day (October 7, 2010). For a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, that’s about 7 mg a day.³
• The FDA permits it as a color additive by regulation (21 CFR 74.303).¹

An acceptable daily intake is, in EFSA’s words, “an estimate of the amount of a substance in food or drinking water that can be consumed daily over a lifetime without presenting an appreciable risk to health.”⁴