E152 - Black 7984
What it is and how it is used
Black 7984 is a synthetic black azo dye. Black food colours are unusual to begin with: most “black” in food is either vegetable carbon or a very dark blend of other dyes rather than a dedicated black.
Great Britain authorises two blacks: E 151 brilliant black BN (also called black PN) and E 153 vegetable carbon. E 152 is not among them.
Foods commonly containing it
None in Great Britain. The number persists in international ingredient databases rather than in current UK products.
Safety summary
Black 7984 (E 152) does not appear in the FSA Register of Food Additive Authorisations, the official list of additives authorised for the market in Great Britain, and it is not on the DHSC/FSA list of approved additives and E numbers. On the current GB list it is not an authorised food additive.
No current GB or EFSA acceptable daily intake applies, and we are not going to supply one.
If a UK product is coloured black, the two things to look for on the label are E 151 (brilliant black BN) and E 153 (vegetable carbon, made by carbonising plant material). Vegetable carbon is the one usually chosen by manufacturers marketing a “no artificial colours” product.