Tartrazine

Tartrazine is a synthetic yellow azo dye, also known as FD&C Yellow No. 5. It colors foods, medicines, cosmetics, and other products.

Food coloring: A substance added to food to impart or restore color. Tartrazine is a widely used synthetic food coloring, especially in processed products.
Azo compound: An organic compound containing a nitrogen–nitrogen double bond connecting carbon-containing groups. Tartrazine belongs to this dye family through its azo linkage.
William Henry Perkin: An English chemist who discovered mauveine in 1856 and helped establish the synthetic dye industry. Perkin’s discovery launched the industrial context in which synthetic dyes such as tartrazine later developed.
Tartrazine sensitivity: A reported adverse reaction associated with exposure to the food dye tartrazine. Reports of sensitivity have driven labeling requirements and continuing evaluation of the dye.
FD&C Yellow No. 5: The United States regulatory name for the color additive tartrazine. This name identifies tartrazine on many U.S. ingredient labels.
Visible spectrum: The range of electromagnetic radiation detectable by human vision. Tartrazine appears yellow because its molecules absorb parts of visible light and transmit or reflect others.
Synthetic dye: A colorant manufactured through chemical synthesis rather than obtained directly from a natural source. Tartrazine belongs to the industrial shift from natural pigments to manufactured colorants.
Asthma: A chronic respiratory disease involving variable airway inflammation and narrowing. Tartrazine has been investigated as a possible trigger in some people with asthma, though evidence does not support a general effect.
Carmoisine: A synthetic red azo dye used as a color additive in some countries. It is another azo food dye, but supplies red rather than tartrazine’s yellow color.
Absorption spectrum: A record of how strongly a substance absorbs light at different wavelengths. Its characteristic absorption peak provides a way to measure tartrazine concentration.

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