Food additive · Color
Carmine
- E-number
- E120
A red color made from cochineal insects. Not vegan; US labels must name it because a few people are allergic.
- Food additive
- Color (added)
- Color from natural sources
- Expert review pending
Concern level
A minor or very limited concern, such as being an ultra-processing marker only. The concern level sets how many points carmine costs on a product’s receipt.
What the evidence says
-
Major allergenRegulatory
US labels must declare cochineal extract or carmine by name (21 CFR 73.100); some people are allergic. [1]
-
Animal-derivedInfo
Made from insects; not vegan. [1]
Evidence tiers say how sure the evidence is, separately from how much it matters. About evidence tiers.
Rules around the world
| Where | Status | Details | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Permitted | Must be declared as cochineal extract or carmine. | — | [1] |
“Banned” means explicitly prohibited or withdrawn after review; “not permitted” means never authorized there. We use each regulator’s own words.
Popular products that list carmine
33 of the 17,000 most-scanned products in the US with a GoodSwap page list carmine. The 12 most scanned:
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Gummy Clusters Nerds · 8 oz Score 8 out of 100 Bad -
Original Recipe Smoked Shorty Sausages Duke's · 142 g Score 29 out of 100 Poor -
Nerds Gummy Clusters Nerds · 8 oz Score 8 out of 100 Bad -
Nerds Candy - Rainbow Nerds · 141 g Score 10 out of 100 Bad -
Crisps Fuego Takis · 155.92 g Score 24 out of 100 Poor -
Gummy Clusters Very Berry Nerds · 5 oz Score 8 out of 100 Bad -
Nerds Gummy Clusters Nerds · 5 oz Score 9 out of 100 Bad -
Multi + Omega-3 For Him Nature Made Score 74 out of 100 Good -
Nerds Rainbow Nerds · 3 oz Score 8 out of 100 Bad -
Nerds Gummy Clusters Nerds · 3 oz Score 8 out of 100 Bad -
Greek blueberry yogurt Dannon Light + Fit Score 38 out of 100 Poor -
Strawberry Lemnade Green Tea Del Monte · 12 fl oz Score 39 out of 100 Poor
Diets and allergens
- Vegan
- No
- Vegetarian
- No
- Gluten-free
- Depends on the source
For the ingredient in general. Always check the package: a product’s own labels win.
Names GoodSwap recognizes on labels (24)
- e120
- carmine
- carmines
- cochineal
- colour e120
- colours e120
- crimson lake
- carmine color
- carminic acid
- color carmine
- coloring e120
- natural red 4
- color carmines
- colour carmine
- colour carmines
- colours carmine
- coloring carmine
- colour cochineal
- colours carmines
- cochineal extract
- color added carmine
- colour carminic acid
- cochineal extract color
- cochineal carminic acid carmines
Sources
-
21 CFR 73.100 Cochineal extract; carmine
“shall specifically declare the presence of the color additive by listing its respective common or usual name, “cochineal extract” or “carmine,””
ecfr.gov