Brilliant Blue FCF

Brilliant Blue FCF (Blue 1), also known under commercial names, is a colorant for foods and other substances. It is denoted by E number E133 and has a color index of 42090. It has the appearance of a reddish-blue powder. It is soluble in water, and the solution has a maximum absorption at about 628 nanometers.

Chemistry

It is a synthetic dye produced using aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum. It can be combined with tartrazine (E102) to produce various shades of green.

It is usually a disodium salt. The diammonium salt has CAS number 3844-45-9. Calcium and potassium salts are also permitted. It can also appear as an aluminium lake. The chemical formation is C₃₇H₃₄N₂Na₂O₉S₃. The dye is poorly absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract and 95% of the ingested dye can be found in the feces.

Applications

As a blue color, Brilliant Blue FCF is often found in ice cream, canned processed peas, packet soups, bottled food colorings, icings, ice pops, blue raspberry flavored products, dairy products, sweets and drinks, especially the liqueur blue curaçao. It is also used in soaps, shampoos, mouthwash and other hygiene and cosmetics applications. In soil science, Brilliant Blue is applied in tracing studies to visualize infiltration and water distribution in the soil.