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Ingredients › INS 124 (Ponceau 4R)

Baby food · 0–36 months

Is INS 124 (Ponceau 4R) safe for babies?

INS 124 (Ponceau 4R) in kids' food

INS 124 is Ponceau 4R, a strawberry-red synthetic food colour. Indian labels often print it only as a number — “Colour (INS 124)” or “Permitted synthetic food colour (124)”. Pikabee flags it in any food for a child under three.

What Pikabee flags, by age

0–6 monthsRED FLAG

Any food other than breast milk or infant formula is flagged at this age, because WHO advises only breast milk for the first 6 months. INS 124 is flagged too.

6–12 monthsRED FLAG

Flagged. The EU does not permit any of these six colours in food made for babies and young children.

12–36 monthsRED FLAG

Still flagged. The EU rule covers food for young children up to three, and in any other food the label must warn “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children”.

What it is

Ponceau 4R is a synthetic colour made for food. It gives sweets, jellies, ice lollies, soft drinks, flavoured milk, cake decorations and biscuit creams their bright shade. On Indian labels it is usually listed as a number after the word “colour”, so it is easy to miss.

It is one of six colours tested in a 2007 study from the University of Southampton, published in The Lancet, which linked a mix of these colours with more hyperactive behaviour in some children. After that study the EU made every food containing any of the six carry a warning on the label.

Names it goes by on labels

Why Pikabee flags it

EU food-additive law (Regulation 1333/2008) allows an additive in food for infants and young children only if Annex II lists it there, and no synthetic colour is listed. Every other food containing Ponceau 4R must carry the warning “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children” (Annex V). Pikabee flags it on every food label for a child under three.

Questions parents ask

Is INS 124 (Ponceau 4R) safe for a baby under 6 months?

Any food other than breast milk or infant formula is flagged at this age, because WHO advises only breast milk for the first 6 months. INS 124 is flagged too.

Is INS 124 (Ponceau 4R) safe for a 6 to 12 month old baby?

Flagged. The EU does not permit any of these six colours in food made for babies and young children. EU food-additive law (Regulation 1333/2008) allows an additive in food for infants and young children only if Annex II lists it there, and no synthetic colour is listed.

Is INS 124 (Ponceau 4R) safe for a 1 to 3 year old?

Still flagged. The EU rule covers food for young children up to three, and in any other food the label must warn “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children”.

What are the side effects of INS 124 in kids?

The EU requires foods with INS 124 to carry the warning “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children”, after the 2007 Southampton study. It is not permitted in EU food for babies and young children. Pikabee flags it for every child under three.

Is INS 124 allowed in baby food?

Not in the EU, which permits no synthetic colours in food for babies and young children. Pikabee follows that rule and flags it wherever the food was made.

How do I spot INS 124 on a label?

Look for “colour”, “food colour” or “synthetic food colour” followed by a number in brackets. 124 is Ponceau 4R. Scan the ingredient list and Pikabee will name it for you.

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Sources

  1. Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives: Article 16 and Annex II category 13.1 (foods for infants and young children), Annex V (colour warning).
  2. McCann D. et al. (2007). Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community. The Lancet 370:1560–1567.

Last reviewed 6 November 2026.

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Talk to your pediatrician about anything concerning.