Sunset Yellow FCF

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
This article has been tagged since December 2006.

Sunset Yellow FCF
Chemical name	disodium salt of 6-hydroxy-5 -[(4-sulfophenyl)azo]-2 -naphthalenesulfonic acid
Chemical formula	C₁₆H₁₀Na₂O₇S₂
Molecular mass	424.35 g/mol
Melting point	300 °C
CAS Number	2783-94-0

Sunset Yellow FCF (also known as Orange Yellow S, and FD&C Yellow 6) is a colourant that may be added to foods to induce a colour change. It is denoted by E Number E110, and has the capacity for inducing an allergic reaction.

It is a synthetic coal tar and azo yellow dye useful in fermented foods which must be heat treated. It may be found in orange squash, orange jelly, marzipan, Swiss roll, apricot jam, citrus marmalade, lemon curd, sweets, hot chocolate mix and packet soups, trifle mix, breadcrumbs and cheese sauce mix and soft drinks.

It appears to cause allergic or intolerance reactions, particularly amongst those with an aspirin intolerance. Other reactions can include gastric upset, diarrhoea, vomiting, a rash similar to nettle rash and skin swelling.

It is one of the colourants that the Hyperactive Children's Support Group recommends be eliminated from the diet of children.

At high concentrations, Sunset Yellow in solution with water undergoes a phase change from an isotropic liquid to a nematic liquid crystal. This occurs between 0.8 M and 0.9 M at room temperature.