Tartrazine
- Physical State
- Solid
- Appearance / Color
- Orange-yellow powder
- Odor
- Odorless
- Taste
- Not applicable (food colorant)
- Moisture Content (%)
- <5%
- pH
- 7.0-8.5 (1% solution)
Categories
Technical Document
Brief Overview
Tartrazine is a bright yellow anionic and hydrophilic powder used as a food coloring. It is a synthetic lemon yellow and yellow azo dye. It can also be used with Brilliant Blue FCF (FD&C Blue 1, E133) or Green S (E142) to produce various green shades. It is famously known by its E number E102.
Manufacturing Process
Tartrazine is manufactured by reacting diazotized 4-aminobenzenesulfonic acid (sulfanilic acid, SA) with 5-oxo-1-(4-sulfophenyl)-2-pyrazoline-3-carboxylic acid (Pyrazolone T, PyT). It can also be obtained by reacting with another compound, such as methyl ester, ethyl ester, or a salt of this carboxylic acid. The resulting compound is purified and isolated as the sodium salt.
Another method for manufacturing tartrazine is condensing phenylhydrazine-p-sulfonic acid with dioxosuccinic acid or oxalacetic acid derivatives.