Banned or restricted substance
Is metanil yellow banned in India?
Last checked 1 October 2026
Metanil yellow is not a permitted food colour in India under the Food Additives Regulations and is prohibited in any food as of 1 Oct 2026; it is a frequent adulterant in turmeric, pulses and sweets.
- Classification
- Prohibited (Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006)
- Decided by
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
- Reference
- FSS (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011: regulation 3.1.1 positive list read with Appendix A, and colour standards in regulation 3.2
- Evidence
- Government document
- Latest action
- 1 October 2026
- Last checked
- 1 October 2026
Photo: Spices at Anjuna beach flea market, Goa.jpg by unknown (CC BY 2.0). All photo credits.
Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, Chapter 3: Substances added to food (Version 3, 07.05.2025)
Scope. A record here does not by itself mean a product or company is unsafe or banned today. Regulatory actions can apply to one batch, one formulation, one period or one state. Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date. How we label records.
Below: Blacklisted's explanationWe organise and explain what the document says. The document above is the authority.
Key facts
- What it is
- An acid azo dye used in textiles and leather
- Status
- Not on the permitted list, prohibited in all foods
- Where it is found
- Turmeric powder, arhar and chana dal, laddus and jalebis, papad
- Health concern
- Neurotoxic and hepatotoxic in animal studies
- Permitted yellows
- Tartrazine (INS 102), Sunset Yellow FCF (INS 110)
Metanil yellow is the adulterant Indian food inspectors find most often. A cheap acid azo dye made for textiles, it gives loose turmeric, pulses and sweets a bright, uniform yellow that natural pigments cannot match. It is not on the list of permitted synthetic colours in the Food Additives Regulations, and under the Food Additives Regulations that means it may not be used in any food.
The only synthetic yellows permitted in India are tartrazine and sunset yellow, and even those are limited to specified foods at specified levels. Turmeric, dals and traditional sweets are not among the foods in which any synthetic colour is allowed, so a positive test for any dye in those products is a violation regardless of which dye it is.
FSSAI's Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART) booklet describes a household test for metanil yellow in turmeric and pulses using concentrated hydrochloric acid, and state laboratories test for it routinely in Diwali sweet-shop drives. Animal studies link chronic exposure to nerve and liver damage, which is why it appears near the top of every 'banned food colours in India' list.
What this means for you
Only eight synthetic colours are permitted
Anything else on a label, or any street food with an unnatural colour, is a red flag. Permitted colours must be declared by name or INS number.
Street food is where these turn up
Enforcement cases usually involve loose sweets, sauces, chilli powder and snacks, not packaged goods from licensed manufacturers.
This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.
Sources
Government documents
- Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, Chapter 3: Substances added to food (Version 3, 07.05.2025)RegulatorFood Safety and Standards Authority of India · 7 May 2025
News reports
- News