Also known as: CI 47005, Food Yellow 13, D&C Yellow 10
Vegan
A synthetic coal tar dye produced entirely from petrochemicals. No animal products are involved.
Ingredient Data
Vegan
E104
CI 47005; Food Yellow 13; D&C Yellow 10
A synthetic coal tar dye produced entirely from petrochemicals. No animal products are involved.
Smoked haddock (traditionally), some scotch eggs, lime-flavoured drinks, some sweets, medications, cosmetics.
No substitute needed from a vegan standpoint — E104 is vegan. Natural alternatives include curcumin (E100) or various plant extracts.
One of the EU 'Southampton Six' dyes — one of six synthetic colorants that must carry the EU mandatory warning 'may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children' (Regulation EC 1333/2008, following the McCann et al., The Lancet, 2007 study). Approved in the EU but banned in the USA, Australia, Japan, and Norway. Despite its vegan status, it remains one of the more controversially regulated synthetic dyes globally.
In depth
Quinoline Yellow is a quinophthalone dye, produced by condensing quinaldine (2-methylquinoline) with phthalic anhydride and then sulfonating the product to make it water-soluble. All starting materials are aromatic petrochemicals. The historical label "coal tar dye" refers to the original nineteenth-century source of these feedstocks; modern production draws on petroleum refining instead, but the chemistry is unchanged. No animal-derived substance is used at any stage of synthesis, purification, or standardization, which is why the dye is classified as vegan by ingredient origin.
The food-grade material sold in the EU as E104 consists primarily of the disulfonated form of the dye, standardized to a defined color strength. Commercial preparations may be blended with plain carriers to reach a consistent tinting power. The closely related colorant approved in the United States for drugs and cosmetics, D&C Yellow No. 10, is manufactured to a different sulfonation specification, which is one reason the two regulatory systems list them as separate substances despite the shared chemical backbone.
In the EU and UK, the dye appears on ingredient lists as "Quinoline Yellow" or "E104." Because it is one of the Southampton Six, any food sold in the EU that contains it must also carry the warning that it "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children." That mandatory statement is often the fastest way to spot the dye on a crowded label.
In cosmetics, the same colorant is declared under its Colour Index name, CI 47005, which appears in the ingredient list of products such as shampoos, soaps, and makeup. In the United States, Quinoline Yellow is not permitted in food, so American shoppers will not encounter it on food labels at all; the related D&C Yellow No. 10 may instead appear among the inactive ingredients of medications and in personal-care products. Checking the inactive-ingredient section of a drug leaflet is a reliable way to find it there, since colorants in pharmaceuticals are easy to overlook.
Quinoline Yellow illustrates how differently regulators treat the same synthetic dye. The EU permits it in a defined range of foods but requires the child-activity warning introduced by Regulation EC 1333/2008, and the European Food Safety Authority has since sharply reduced the acceptable daily intake, after which the EU lowered the maximum permitted use levels. The United States has never approved it as a food additive; only the related D&C Yellow No. 10 is allowed there, and only in drugs and cosmetics. Several other jurisdictions likewise do not permit it in food.
The practical effect of the EU warning requirement has been widespread voluntary reformulation. Many manufacturers, particularly in the UK, replaced Quinoline Yellow and the other Southampton Six dyes with plant-derived colorants rather than print the warning on their packaging. As a result, the dye is now less common in mainstream European food products than it was before 2010, though it still appears in some confectionery, soft drinks, and imported goods.
From a strictly ingredient-based standpoint, no alternative is needed: Quinoline Yellow contains nothing animal-derived. Vegans who avoid it usually do so for other reasons — the EU behavioral warning, a general preference for natural colorants, or objections to the animal testing historically used to establish the safety of synthetic dyes. That testing concern applies to virtually all regulated food additives and is a matter of individual judgment rather than of the substance's composition.
Manufacturers seeking a plant-based yellow typically turn to curcumin (E100), extracted from turmeric root, which gives a bright lemon-yellow shade. Lutein (E161b), usually obtained from marigold flowers, and safflower extract provide alternative yellow tones. Riboflavin (E101), produced by microbial fermentation, is another option. These natural colorants are generally less lightfast and less heat-stable than the synthetic dye and can cost more at equivalent color strength, which is why Quinoline Yellow persists in some price-sensitive applications where it remains legal.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Quinoline Yellow (E104) is a fully synthetic dye made from petrochemical raw materials, and no animal-derived substances are used in its production. Some vegans nevertheless avoid synthetic colorants because of the animal testing historically used in their safety assessment, but by ingredient origin the dye is vegan.
It is not approved as a food additive in the US, so American food products cannot contain it. The closely related colorant D&C Yellow No. 10 is permitted in drugs and cosmetics, so it may still appear in medications and personal-care products sold in the US.
It is one of the Southampton Six, a group of six synthetic dyes linked to hyperactivity in children in a 2007 University of Southampton study published in The Lancet. EU Regulation EC 1333/2008 requires foods containing any of these dyes to state that the colorant "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children." The warning concerns behavior, not the dye's vegan status.
No. Tartrazine is E102, an azo dye, while Quinoline Yellow is E104, a quinophthalone dye with a different chemical structure. Both are synthetic yellow colorants, both are vegan, and both belong to the Southampton Six group that requires a warning label in the EU.
In the EU it has traditionally been used in smoked haddock, scotch eggs, lime- and lemon-flavored drinks, and various sweets, though many manufacturers have reformulated since the warning-label requirement took effect. It also appears in some medications and cosmetics, where it is listed as CI 47005 or D&C Yellow No. 10. Note that smoked haddock and scotch eggs are not vegan for reasons unrelated to the dye.
For a plant-based yellow, curcumin (E100) from turmeric is the most common substitute, followed by lutein (E161b) from marigold and safflower extract. Riboflavin (E101) produced by fermentation is another vegan option. From a vegan standpoint no replacement is required, since E104 itself contains no animal ingredients.