Abstract

Colors are among the food additives that are added to increase the attractiveness of food and are very important in the industry to attract customers. Colors can have asthma-like effects, hyperactivity in children, weakened immune systems, anaphylactic reactions, or even cancerous effects. The purpose of this study is to investigate the status and abundance of artificial colors used in various meat products offered in Yazd. 299 samples of meat products were randomly sampled and after extracting the dye with hydrochloric acid and purification according to the national standard of Iran No. 2634, they were analyzed by chromatography with a thin layer of color type. The results showed that out of 38.127 of the samples that had color, 47.37 of the samples had artificial colors, 44.74 of the samples had unauthorized colors and 7.89 of the samples had both colors.The unauthorized use of artificial colors in food preparation has raised many health concerns. Knowing the reasons for using these colors, especially the unauthorized color of tartarazine, as well as raising public awareness, especially those related to the production of products and food, can facilitate planning and management and control measures and be an important step to maintain community health. © Journal of Food Science and Technology (Iran) 2021. All rights reserved.