Tartrazine
Description
A lemon yellow monoazo dye discovered in 1884 by Johann Heinrich Ziegler, a Swiss chemist. Tartrazine was used to dye many types of fabrics: wool, nylon, jute, leather, silk, paper, and acid dyeable acrylic fibers. Because of its stability and bright color, it also became popular for food and drugs by the early 1900s. Many years later, studies showed that some people experience allergic reactions to food containing tartrazine. As a result, the dye has been banned as a food colorant in some countries. Even so, it is still used in many other countries, including the U.S., in colas, candies, soups, jelly, and many other food products, making it one of the most widely used synthetic dyes.
Tartrazine lakes, the insoluble pigment form used in cosmetics and tablets are created by absorbing the dye onto a substrate like aluminum.
Synonyms and Related Terms
CI 19140; Acid Yellow 23; Food Yellow 4; FD&C Yellow 5; Solvent Yellow 57; Lampronol Yellow J; Pigment Yellow 100 (aluminum lake); Tartrazin (Deut.)
Risks
- Hygroscopic.
- May cause allergic skin reactions, migraines, or blurred vision.
- Fisher Scientific: MSDS
Physical and Chemical Properties
- Water-soluble
- Maximum absorbance at 425 nm (in aqueous solution)
- Composition = C16H9N4O9S2Na3 (mol. wt. = 534.35 g/mol)
- CAS = 1934-21-0
- Melting Point = 215 C (dec)
- Density = 1.93 g/ml
Resources and Citations
- Colour Index International online at www.colour-index.org Comment: discoverer, CI, CAS, uses
- Wikipedia: Tartrazine (Accessed Sept. 28, 2005 and Feb 2026) - allergic reactions, contained in Mountain Dew