Food color names and codes: identify the market first
Keep US color declarations and EU E-number notation separate before attempting an exact ingredient match.
A color ingredient can look quite different on packages sold in different markets. Before translating or matching a name to a code, identify which market's declaration you are reading. Similar digits, familiar color words, or a shortened search result are not enough to establish that two entries refer to the same material.
Recognize two declaration systems
US color declarations are addressed in 21 CFR 101.22(k), including specific provisions for certified colors. In the EU, Annex VII Part C provides the category-plus-name-or-E-number structure for relevant additives, subject to its stated rules. See Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.
This is a naming distinction, not a universal conversion table. A US name and an EU code need a verified substance match before you place them on the same row. Current permission to use a color in a particular food is a further question.
Build an exact-match record
- Photograph the full ingredient sentence.
- Record the market and language printed on the package.
- Copy all numbers, suffixes, and words such as “lake” if present.
- Search an official source using the complete entry.
- Save the source used for any proposed name-to-code match.
For example, a hypothetical scan might omit a digit at the end of a code. Do not select the closest familiar result to make the record look complete. Keep the partial reading and mark the identity unresolved until a clearer image or current manufacturer information supplies the missing character.
Avoid a second unsupported leap
Even a correct identity match does not tell you how much coloring the food contains. It also does not establish that two products have identical formulations, simply because they use equivalent names for one color ingredient.
When comparing packages, keep substance identity, regulatory context, and declared quantity as separate fields. A reference can resolve the first field without resolving the others. This method is slower than replacing every name with a generic color label, but it produces a record you can revisit when a package, market, or formulation changes.