Ponceau 4R

Ponceau 4R is notable for histamine, salicylate, FODMAPs and oligosaccharides. Clear on lactose, gluten, fructose, sorbitol, sucrose, tyramine, nickel and oxalates.

Ponceau 4R contains moderate levels of histamine. Ponceau 4R (E124) is the red of tinned strawberries, packet trifles and cheap salami casings, and it is the fifth of the Southampton colours present in this catalogue - so it too carries the children's attention warning. It holds no histamine itself, and the liberator label it carries here is the elimination protocols' classification rather than a measured effect. The Swiss list rates it 2 of 3 and marks it L, its letter for liberators of mast cell mediators — a presumed reason rather than a measurement.

Ponceau 4R contains moderate levels of salicylate. An azo dye used for red shades, in the same group as tartrazine — the synthetic colours with a long-documented cross-reaction in salicylate and aspirin sensitivity. It is also one of the six colours of Annex V of the additives regulation, which must carry the children's attention warning on the label - a different endpoint from this axis: attention, not salicylate.

Ponceau 4R contains only low levels of FODMAPs. Ponceau 4R is a synthetic red dye, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Ponceau 4R contains only low levels of oligosaccharides. Ponceau 4R is an azo dye - a synthetic aromatic molecule with no sugar unit anywhere in it - used in milligrams. It sits at low rather than none because the additive category is reviewed as a block, not because an oligosaccharide was found in it. Amounts vary by brand and recipe, so always check the label of the exact product.