INS 172 is iron oxides, a family of three inorganic mineral colours (black 172(i), red 172(ii), yellow 172(iii)) used in food for warm brown-to-red and yellow-to-tan shades. On Indian packs they show up in cheese rinds, sugar-coated nuts and chocolate, some sauces, and pharmaceutical tablet coatings. It is generally vegan and is permitted by FSSAI for specified food categories.
INS 172 is iron oxides, a family of three inorganic mineral colours (black 172(i), red 172(ii), yellow 172(iii)) used in food for warm brown-to-red and yellow-to-tan shades. On Indian packs they show up in cheese rinds, sugar-coated nuts and chocolate, some sauces, and pharmaceutical tablet coatings.
Brands use them because iron oxides give a stable warm brown, red, or yellow shade at very low dose, they do not fade under heat or bright light the way some natural colours do, and they survive the high-pressure tablet-coating process used in pharma. They are typically used where a soft, earthy shade is wanted (cheese rind, sugar-coated almond brown, tablet-coating tan) rather than where a vivid red is needed.
INS 172 commonly shows up on Indian packets in these categories:
Food-grade iron oxides are produced synthetically from ferrous sulfate by a specified heat-soak, washing, filtration, drying, and grinding process. The resulting product has tight limits on metal impurities (lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, antimony, zinc) that distinguish it from non-food iron-oxide pigment grades (such as those used in paints, plastics, and masonry), which do not meet food-grade specifications and are NOT permitted for food use. No animal product is used in either food-grade or non-food-grade iron oxide manufacture; the difference is the purity specification, not the source.
FSSAI: Permitted by FSSAI as a colour under Schedule I of the FSS (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations 2011 for specified food categories with category-specific limits. FSSAI specifications follow the JECFA food-grade purity standard, which is distinct from industrial iron-oxide pigment specifications. The three sub-codes 172(i), 172(ii), 172(iii) are covered as a group.
JECFA: ADI 0-0.5 mg/kg body weight for iron oxides (group), affirmed for the umbrella INS 172 entry in JECFA's 1999 evaluation (Chemical 949). The umbrella record covers all three sub-codes 172(i) black, 172(ii) red, 172(iii) yellow. The original sub-code records (Chemicals 947 red, 948 yellow, 4080 black) were established earlier at the 23rd JECFA (1979), TRS 648; specifications were reaffirmed at the 33rd JECFA (1989) and metal-impurity limits revised at the 59th JECFA (2002) and 69th JECFA (2008). EFSA's 2015 re-evaluation of E172 reached a similar safety position with the food-grade specification in place. The ADI specifically applies to food-grade synthetic iron oxides produced under the JECFA specification; non-food iron-oxide pigment grades used in paints, plastics, and masonry are NOT covered by this ADI and are not permitted in food.
On packets, in recipes, and in conversation, INS 172 is also called:
Last verified: 2026-05-12.