Home › Ingredients › Brilliant Blue (E133)
Is Brilliant Blue (E133) safe?
- EU: permitted within limits — EFSA cut the safe daily limit in 2010 and found heavy-consuming children can exceed it
- WHO/JECFA: same daily limit, opposite conclusion — children's high-end exposure sits just under it, so no health concern
- US: permitted and certified — but the FDA asked industry to drop it voluntarily, and at least five states now bar it from school food
- India: permitted within limits as INS 133
- LabelCop: medium-risk flag — legal, but the children's exposure margin is thin
What is Brilliant Blue?
- A synthetic blue dye — one of the most widely used blues in food
- One job: colour. It adds no flavour, no preservation, no nutrition
- Label names: Brilliant Blue FCF, E133, INS 133, FD&C Blue No. 1, Blue 1, Acid Blue 9, CI 42090
- Mixed with tartrazine (E102) it makes green — so a lot of "green" products are really two dyes
Which foods contain it?
- Blue and blue-raspberry sweets, ice lollies, slushes and candyfloss
- Sports drinks, energy drinks and blue soft drinks
- Icings, cake decorations, jellies and bubble gum
- Some breakfast cereals, and mouthwash and toothpaste
- Anything green: mint sweets, green icing, green drinks — usually E133 plus E102
- In India: commonly in bubble gums, ice creams, bakery decoration, mocktails and hard-boiled sweets — look for INS 133 on the label
What the regulators actually say
| Regulator | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| EFSA / European Union | Permitted within limits; daily limit lowered in 2010 | Authorised as E133 under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 with conditions of use per food category. EFSA's 2010 re-evaluation cut the acceptable daily intake from 10 to 6 mg per kg of body weight per day. Its own exposure work found that at the higher end (95th percentile), children can go over that limit — though a more refined estimate using maximum reported use levels came out below it. |
| FDA (United States) | Permitted; voluntary phase-out requested | FD&C Blue No. 1 remains a listed, batch-certified colour additive (21 CFR 74.101). In April 2025 HHS and the FDA said they would work with industry to eliminate six synthetic dyes including Blue No. 1 — a voluntary transition. The FDA separately began revoking Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B; it did not start that process for Blue No. 1. |
| US states | Prohibited in school food in at least five states | Utah (HB 402) and Arizona (HB 2164) bar Blue 1 from school food from the 2026–27 school year; West Virginia (HB 2354) from school nutrition programme meals since August 2025; Virginia (HB 1910) from 1 July 2027; California (AB 2316) from 31 December 2027. West Virginia's wider 2028 statewide ban is blocked by a federal preliminary injunction and under appeal — the school-meal part is unaffected. None of these is a general sales ban. |
| FSSAI (India) | Permitted within limits | Brilliant Blue FCF (INS 133) is one of the synthetic colours FSSAI permits, used within the prescribed limits for each food category under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations. |
| WHO / JECFA | No health concern at current exposure | The joint FAO/WHO expert committee holds an ADI of 0–6 mg/kg bw/day — the same number EFSA uses. Its conservative estimate of children's high-end dietary exposure came in below the top of that range, so it concluded exposure does not present a health concern. |
Why do regulators disagree?
- They agree on the limit. They disagree on how close children get to it.
- Both EFSA and JECFA work to the same 6 mg/kg bw/day figure
- EFSA (2010): at its Tier 2 estimate, children at the 95th percentile land above the limit — a flag worth raising
- JECFA: its conservative estimate for the same group lands below the limit — no concern
- The gap is method, not chemistry: different assumptions about how much coloured food children actually eat
- The US split is political as much as scientific: federal law still permits it, state legislatures moved first on school food, and one of those laws is currently in court
- We show you the disagreement rather than quietly picking a side
The child-behaviour warning: a common mix-up
- EU law requires six colours to carry the warning "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children"
- Those six are E102, E104, E110, E122, E124 and E129 — following the 2007 Southampton study
- Brilliant Blue was not one of the colours tested in that study, and does not carry the EU warning
- So if a blue sweet has no warning on it in Europe, that is the rule working as written — not an oversight
- Green products are the exception worth checking: the tartrazine in the mix does trigger the warning
- E133 is a medium-risk flag in LabelCop
- Why: EFSA (2010) found that children who eat a lot of brightly coloured foods can go over its safe daily limit — though EFSA's own refined estimate, and the WHO's, land below it
- It is a synthetic colour that adds no nutrition — a marker of how processed a product is
- Rule: strictest regulator wins — so we flag it even where it's fully legal
- The product's score takes a penalty — and you see the flag, the reason and the sources. No black box
Frequently asked questions
Is Brilliant Blue banned in Europe?
No. It is permitted across the EU as E133 under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, within the conditions of use set for each food category. What changed in 2010 was the safe daily limit, which EFSA lowered from 10 to 6 mg per kg of body weight per day.
Is it permitted in India?
Yes. Brilliant Blue FCF (INS 133) is one of the synthetic colours FSSAI permits, used within the prescribed limits for each food category.
Does Blue 1 cause hyperactivity in children?
The 2007 Southampton study that led to the EU warning label tested six other colours — Brilliant Blue was not among them. So there is no finding from that study to apply to E133. What EFSA did flag, separately, is exposure: at its Tier 2 estimate children at the high end of consumption can exceed the safe daily limit, though its refined Tier 3 estimate came out below it. That is a dose question, not a behaviour finding.
Why doesn't it carry the EU child-behaviour warning when Red 40 does?
Because the warning requirement names six specific colours — E102, E104, E110, E122, E124 and E129. Brilliant Blue isn't one of them. Green products often contain both E133 and tartrazine (E102), and the tartrazine does trigger the warning.
Is it being removed from US food?
Not by law. In April 2025 HHS and the FDA asked industry to eliminate six synthetic dyes including Blue No. 1 voluntarily; the additive itself remains listed and batch-certified. Separately, at least five states bar it from school food — Utah and Arizona from the 2026–27 school year, West Virginia in school nutrition programme meals since August 2025, Virginia from July 2027 and California from December 2027. West Virginia's wider statewide ban is currently blocked by a court injunction and under appeal. None of these is a general sales ban.
How do I avoid it?
Read the ingredients list for Brilliant Blue FCF, E133, INS 133, FD&C Blue No. 1 or Acid Blue 9 — and check green products too, since green is usually blue plus yellow. Or scan the label with LabelCop and it's flagged automatically, with the regulator reasoning shown.
LabelCop reads any food label you photograph and flags additives like E133 instantly — no barcode needed.
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EFSA (2010): re-evaluation of Brilliant Blue FCF (E 133), EFSA Journal 2010;8(11):1853 · Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives · EFSA: assessment of the Southampton study (the six warning-label colours) · WHO/JECFA: Brilliant Blue FCF evaluation · 21 CFR 74.101 — FD&C Blue No. 1 · FDA/HHS (April 2025): phasing out petroleum-based synthetic dyes · California AB 2316 — School Food Safety Act · West Virginia HB 2354 (bill text, WV Legislature) · Office of the Governor of West Virginia: HB 2354 signed into law · FSSAI: Food Safety and Standards regulations — permitted additives
Related ingredients: Tartrazine (E102 / Yellow 5) — the yellow that turns E133 green, and does carry the EU warning · Red 40 / Allura Red (E129) — same US voluntary phase-out list · Caramel colour (E150a–d)
This article explains regulatory status and published scientific assessments in plain English. It is not medical advice.