Colour additive levels in foodstuffs commonly consumed by children in Kuwait

A food consumption survey to identify the types and quantities of coloured food items that are most commonly consumed by children in Kuwait was conducted. Determination of colour additives in 334 food items consumed was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection. Data showed that among the food items analysed, 308 samples, i.e., 90%, contained permitted artificial colours. When comparing the mean levels of colour additives found in foodstuffs consumed by children in Kuwait with the good manufacturing practice (GMP) and permitted levels in other countries, levels in Kuwait were substantially higher for several food items.