Tartrazine (Yellow 5) (E102)

Tartrazine (Yellow 5) is the color the food industry lists as E102. In our table it is moderate risk: it takes 15 points off the additive subscore, a third of a product's score (about 5 of the 100).

What Yellow 5 does to a score

A packaged food's additive subscore starts at 100 and loses points for each additive on the label; that subscore is a third of the final score. Yellow 5 takes 15 points off the additive subscore, a third of a product's score (about 5 of the 100), and a child under 6 sees it one class higher again. Scan the pack in Sito and the score you get is the one for your own child's age, with this additive named in the reasons. How we score has the whole method.

What the sources found

Every classification in our table comes from the citations below, and nothing else. Each finding is our one-line summary of what the source concluded, with the source and reference beside it.

• EFSA 10.2903/j.efsa.2009.1331
  ADI of 7.5 mg/kg bw/day retained; tartrazine can elicit intolerance reactions in a small fraction of the exposed population and sensitive individuals may react at dose levels within the ADI; McCann 2007 (Southampton) reviewed.
• EU law Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex V
  Mandatory 'may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children' warning since July 2010.
• OEHHA (2021) synthetic food dyes / children neurobehavioral assessment
  Yellow 5 is one of the seven dyes assessed. OEHHA's overall conclusion is that synthetic food dyes can impact neurobehavior in some children; its review of human studies suggests that synthetic food dyes are associated with adverse neurobehavioral effects, such as inattentiveness, hyperactivity and restlessness in sensitive children, and that some children are likely to be more adversely affected than others.
• US state law US-CA: AB 2316 (California School Food Safety Act, signed 2024) ; US-WV: HB 2354 school-food provisions in force 2025-08-01
  Banned from California public-school food from 2027-12-31; WV school-food ban already in force (WV's statewide 2028 ban preliminarily enjoined 2025-12-23).

Why this class

IARC Group 2B; or an EFSA re-evaluation that flagged genotoxicity data gaps, found safety could not be assessed on the available data, or cut the ADI citing child exposure; or an EU harmonised classification of the substance as a reproductive or developmental hazard; or an EU withdrawal of one authorised food use while others remain; or an OEHHA/Proposition 65 listing; or membership of the Southampton-six colourants.

Our confidence in this row's classification is high. Medium or low does not mean the evidence is weak; it means something about the row is still being pinned down, usually a regulatory status confirmed from one source rather than two.

Questions parents ask

Is Yellow 5 (E102) safe for kids?

Moderate risk. In Sito it takes 15 points off the additive subscore, a third of a product's score (about 5 of the 100). It is flagged for young children, so for a child under 6 it moves up one class, to high risk: 30 points off the additive subscore. The finding we rely on: ADI of 7.5 mg/kg bw/day retained; tartrazine can elicit intolerance reactions in a small fraction of the exposed population and sensitive individuals may react at dose levels within the ADI; McCann 2007 (Southampton) reviewed (EFSA, 10.2903/j.efsa.2009.1331).

What is E102?

E102 is the E number for Tartrazine, a color. It is also called Yellow 5. Open Food Facts tags it en:e102.

Next to it on the label

The E numbers either side of E102 in our table, then the closest colors by number.

• Curcumin (E100), low risk, flagged for young children
• Riboflavin (E101), no risk identified
• Quinoline Yellow (E104), moderate risk, flagged for young children
• Yellow 6 (E110), moderate risk, flagged for young children
• Cochineal / carmine (E120), low risk
• Azorubine / carmoisine (E122), moderate risk, flagged for young children