Aluminium lakes of colouring matters
Aluminium lakes of colouring mattersA lake is a colour fixed onto a solid so that it disperses rather than dissolves, which is what lets a water-soluble dye colour a fat or a coated tablet. This is JECFA's general specification for the aluminium lakes, and it applies on top of the specification for whichever colour was laked.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Canada | No listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here. | ||
| European Union | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Great Britain | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Japan | No listing matchedThis site imports only Japan’s list of designated additives (Appended Table 1 to the Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act), matched by English name. Existing additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives are permitted outside that list and are not imported, so an empty row does not show that Japan does not permit the substance. | ||
| South Korea | No listing matchedThis site imports Part III of South Korea’s Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, matched by CAS number, then INS number, then exact name. Mixed preparations and sanitisers are not imported, and an entry whose identifiers disagreed with a page’s is held for review, so an empty row does not show that South Korea does not permit the substance. | ||
| United States | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. | ||
| Codex Alimentarius | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. |
What it is made from
Made by reacting freshly prepared aluminium oxide with a colour that already meets its own purity specification; the product is filtered, washed and dried.
How JECFA defines it
The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.
Aluminium Lakes of Colouring Matters
Aluminium lakes are prepared under aqueous conditions by reacting aluminium oxide with colouring matter complying with purity criteria set out in the appropriate specification monograph. Undried aluminium oxide is usually freshly prepared by reacting aluminium sulfate or aluminium chloride with sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate or aqueous ammonia. Following lake formation, the product is filtered, washed with water and dried. Unreacted aluminium oxide may also be present in the final product.
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Specification history
- GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS Prepared at the 63 rd JECFA (2004) and published in the Combined Compendium of Food Additive Specifications, FAO JECFA Monographs 1 (2005). A PTWI of 2 mg/kg bw for aluminium was established at the 74 th JECFA (2011).
- Assay
- Content of colouring matter shall be within the range specified by the vendor.
- METHOD OF ASSAY
- See Colouring matter, Total content by spectrophotometry, Procedure for Lakes under Methods for Food Colours in Volume 4.
Identification
- Solubility (Vol. 4)
- Insoluble in water
- Identification of colouring matter (Vol. 4)
- Dissolve the sample using the method described in Colouring matter, Procedure for Lakes under Methods for Food Colours. Use the identification test described in the appropriate colour specifications monograph.
Purity criteria
- Water-soluble chlorides and sulfates (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 2 % calculated as sodium salts. Use the procedure for Water-soluble chlorides and sulfates in aluminium lakes under Methods for Food Colours
- Hydrochloric acid-insoluble matters (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 0.5 % Use the procedure for Hydrochloric acid-insoluble matters in lakes under Methods for Food Colours
- Ether-extractable matter (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 0.2 % (Method II)
- Arsenic (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 3 mg/kg (Method II)
- Lead (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 5 mg/kg Determine using an AAS/ICP-AES technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the methods described in Volume 4 (under “General Methods, Metallic Impurities”).
Every name it appears under
1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.
Other names
- Aluminium lakes of colouring matters
Hazard reference values
No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.
Evidence and how bodies read it
Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.
Sources for this page
- jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23
Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.
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