Is red 7 lake (ci 15850) safe on skin (left on)?

Under the app's default Cautious lens, red 7 lake (ci 15850) on skin (left on) rates Low: a little concern, nothing the app would ask you to swap. 1 sourced concern counts (endocrine, emerging tier). This is research with sources, not medical advice.

What do the Clean, Low, Watch and Swap levels mean?

They are cut from a continuous concern level the app computes from the sourced claims that the chosen evidence lens shows: each claim counts its concern class, tier weight, confidence and dose relevance, combined worst-first with a decay so one serious finding outweighs many small ones, then scaled by how much of the substance reaches you in this use. Clean is below 0.35, Low below 1.1, Watch below 2.0 and Swap above that, on a 0 to 3 scale.

Is Red 7 Lake (ci 15850) safe in food and drink?

Cosmetics2 uses researched3 sourced claims

Where it turns up: red pigment, lip, cheek color. Detox My Life researched red 7 lake (ci 15850) under 2 different uses, because the same substance means something different in each. Every claim below carries its evidence tier, how sure the research is that it applies here, and the sources it cites. The level is computed by the app's own deterministic engine, so the page says exactly what the app would.

Level by use and lens

Use	Mainstream	Cautious (default)	Based	Concerns · favour · fringe
Eaten or drunk	Low	Watch	Watch	2 · 0
On skin, left on	Clean	Low	Low	1 · 0

Mainstream shows consensus claims only; Cautious adds emerging research; Based adds fringe claims, labelled as such. The last column counts, under Cautious, the sourced concerns, the findings in its favour and the fringe claims Based would add.

Safer swaps: the app's swap catalog has no entry tied to this ingredient yet. When you scan a product that contains it, the app suggests cleaner alternative types for that product; the swap categories list what the catalog covers today.

Eaten or drunk Watch

Under the default Cautious lens red 7 lake (ci 15850) in food and drink rates Watch: worth watching; the app would list a cleaner alternative type. Mainstream (consensus only) rates it Low; Based (adds the fringe) rates it Watch. Researched 2026-09-03.

Sourced concerns (2)

ConsensusIntake guidelineconfidence 100%

In the European Union, CI 15850, known as E180 (Litholrubine BK), is approved as a food additive exclusively for coloring edible cheese rinds, with an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of 1.5 mg/kg body weight.

Why here: European regulatory bodies, such as EFSA, have evaluated and approved E180 for a specific food application and established an ADI.
What would have to be true: Ingestion of edible cheese rinds containing E180, up to 1.5 mg/kg body weight daily.

Sources the engine cites:

Toxicity of synthetic food colors, scientific review - FoodTimes — foodtimes.eu (2024) · review
1 community or commercial page, not counted here.

EmergingIrritant · allergenconfidence 80%

Ingestion of E180 (Litholrubine BK) is suspected of triggering allergic reactions in sensitive individuals, which can manifest as skin rashes, eczema, hives, neurodermatitis, shortness of breath, or asthma-like attacks.

Why here: The dye is an azo dye, and some individuals may experience hypersensitivity reactions upon ingestion.
What would have to be true: Ingestion of E180.

Sources the engine cites (no regulator, review or study among them):

2 community or commercial pages, not counted here.

On skin, left on Low

Under the default Cautious lens red 7 lake (ci 15850) on skin (left on) rates Low: a little concern, nothing the app would ask you to swap. Mainstream (consensus only) rates it Clean; Based (adds the fringe) rates it Low. Researched 2026-09-03.

Sourced concerns (1)

EmergingEndocrineconfidence 60%

Some lake dyes, including those derived from petroleum like Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), are listed on the TEDX list of Potential Endocrine Disruptors, with concerns about them potentially interfering with hormones.

Why here: Dermal absorption of ingredients in leave-on products can lead to systemic exposure.
What would have to be true: Dermal exposure to products containing Red 7 Lake.
The other side: Rigorous product safety assessments by qualified scientific experts, which companies are legally obliged to carry out, cover all potential risks, including potential endocrine disruption, and very few substances have been shown to cause endocrine disruption.

Sources the engine cites (no regulator, review or study among them):

1 community or commercial page, not counted here.

Not researched here

The engine has no dossier for red 7 lake (ci 15850) when cooked with heat, in cold food, as a finishing ingredient, in heated food packaging or other uses. The app researches an ingredient for the use it infers from your product, so a scan fills these in; this page only shows what has already been researched and source-verified.

This is research, not medical advice. Detox My Life shows sourced claims sorted by evidence tier. It does not diagnose, treat, or tell you to start or stop anything. Talk to a qualified professional about your health.

Scan your own. The app reads any product label with your camera, works out how you are about to use it, and researches every ingredient for that use with live sources. Every scan adds to a Detox Score for your home, where 50 is a typical home in your region, and a plan of next swaps.

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