Annatto: Is This Natural Food Coloring Safe?

Annatto is the reason cheddar cheese is orange – and also many cheese snacks, crackers, popcorn and butter. It’s a natural coloring from the seeds of a tropical tree, so most people assume it’s harmless. For most people it is, but “natural” doesn’t mean it suits everyone.

The short answer: annatto is a natural yellow-orange coloring from the seeds of the achiote tree. It’s not a synthetic dye like Red 40 or Yellow 5, and it’s considered safe for most people. But it can cause allergic reactions in a small number of people, from hives to rare cases of anaphylaxis (a severe, sudden allergic reaction). And the European Food Safety Authority found that some children who eat a lot of annatto-colored food may go over the safe daily limit for one of its parts.

What is annatto?

Annatto comes from the red seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa orellana), which grows in Central and South America. People there have used it for centuries to color food, skin and cloth. Achiote paste is still used to flavor meat and rice.

The color comes from two natural pigments:

• Bixin – dissolves in fat, used in butter, margarine and oily foods
• Norbixin – dissolves in water, used in cheese and water-based foods

Depending on the amount, annatto gives food a color from light yellow to deep orange. It has a mild, slightly nutty and peppery taste, but in the small amounts used as coloring you can’t taste it.

On labels, you’ll see it as annatto, annatto extract, annatto color, bixin, norbixin or E160b.

Which foods contain annatto?

• Cheese: cheddar, Red Leicester, Colby, processed cheese and cheese slices
• Dairy and fats: butter, margarine, custard, ice cream
• Snacks: cheese crackers, cheese puffs, popcorn, chips
• Breakfast: cereals and cereal bars
• Meat and fish: sausages, smoked fish
• Other: salad dressings, sauces, baked goods, rice mixes

Why is cheddar orange? Cheese made from cows that graze on grass is naturally slightly yellow in summer. Centuries ago, English cheesemakers began adding annatto so their cheese would look the same all year – and the habit stuck.

Is annatto safe? What the research says

What regulators say

Annatto is approved as a food coloring in the US and the EU. In 2016, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) set safe daily limits for its two pigments: 6 mg per kg of body weight for bixin and 0.3 mg per kg for norbixin. Adults stay well under these limits. But toddlers and children who eat a lot of annatto-colored foods may go over the limit for norbixin (EFSA, 2016). EFSA also said it couldn’t confirm that some types of annatto extract were safe, because data was missing.

Allergic reactions

Annatto is one of the few natural colorings known to cause allergic reactions. Doctors have reported:

• Hives, swelling and a dangerous drop in blood pressure within 20 minutes of eating a cereal with annatto. The patient’s skin test was strongly positive for annatto, but negative for milk, wheat and corn. The authors think tiny bits of seed protein in the coloring may cause the allergy (Nish et al., Annals of Allergy, 1991).
• A patient who seemed allergic to cheese turned out to be allergic to the annatto in it (Ebo et al., Allergy, 2009).
• A reaction confirmed with a blinded eating test, where the patient doesn’t know if they get annatto or a fake – the most reliable test (Sadowska et al., Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 2021).

These reactions are rare, but they’re easy to miss, because people usually blame the cheese or the cereal, not the coloring.

Digestive symptoms

Some gut doctors have reported patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) who felt better when they avoided annatto (Floch, Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, 2009). This is based on what doctors saw in their patients, not on proper trials.

Possible benefits

Annatto seeds contain carotenoids and tocotrienols (a form of vitamin E), which protect cells. But the amounts in colored foods are tiny, so annatto coloring doesn’t add real nutrition.

Annatto vs synthetic dyes

	Annatto (E160b)	Red 40, Yellow 5
Source	Seeds of the achiote tree	Petroleum
Linked to hyperactivity in children	No evidence	Yes (Southampton study)
Warning label in the EU	No	Yes (for six dyes)
Allergic reactions	Rare	Rare (Yellow 5 more often)
Safe daily limit can be exceeded by children	Yes, for norbixin	Possible with high intake

Annatto is a better choice than synthetic dyes, but the safest choice is food that doesn’t need added color at all.

Should you avoid annatto?

For most people, there’s no need to avoid it. But it’s worth checking labels if:

• you get hives, swelling, itching or stomach symptoms after cheddar, orange snacks or cereals, but not after other dairy
• you have IBS and certain processed foods seem to trigger symptoms
• your children eat a lot of orange cheese snacks, crackers and processed cheese

If you suspect an allergy, keep a food diary and talk to an allergist – skin tests and food challenges can confirm it.

Spot annatto on any label in seconds. With NutriSmart, you photograph the ingredient list or scan the barcode, and the app tells you right away if the product has annatto. Turn on an alert for it, and the app warns you every time a product you scan contains it. You’ll also see every other additive, the risks of each one and a health score out of 100.Get the app free

You can also read about other food colorings: Red 40, carmine and titanium dioxide.

Related: Caramel color (E150).

The bottom line

Annatto is a natural yellow-orange coloring from achiote seeds that makes cheddar, butter and cheese snacks orange. It’s a better choice than synthetic dyes and safe for most people. But it can cause allergic reactions in a few people. And EFSA found that children who eat a lot of annatto-colored food may go over the safe limit for norbixin. If orange foods seem to disagree with you, check the label for annatto or E160b.