Recent advances in electrochemical sensors based on nanomaterials for detection of red dyes in food products: A review

Red dyes as Allura Red (E129), Amaranth (E124), Ponceau 4R (E123), Erythrosine (E127) and Carmoisine (E122), are very popular food additives due to their stability, low cost, and minimal microbial contamination. Despite these advantages, their consumption may result in asthma, hyperactivity, carcinogenic effects, etc depending on the uptake and age. Therefore, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have managed the permissions of allowed daily intake (ADI) for consumption levels of these dyes to be 0.01-7.0 mg/kg to assure foodstuffs consumer's safety and avoid their adverse effects. Yet, many countries as Japan and USA have prohibited their use in food and drinks to reduce their possible health risks. Based on the above concentration ranges, highly sensitive and selective detection techniques are required, accordingly, the application of electrochemical sensors for the analysis of these dyes in food samples is very promising due to their superior sensitivity and selectivity, low cost and rapid response compared to traditional spectrophotometric or chromatographic methods. Also, they can be miniaturized, portable and require no complicated sampling or preparation procedures, besides being ecofriendly which allows their commercialization for public consumers in fast detection kits. In this review, the role of nanomaterials such as: carbon-based, transition metal oxides, metal organic frameworks, ionic liquids and others in enhancing the detection properties of modified electrochemical sensors for red dyes will be evaluated in terms of the type of nanomaterial applied, tested food samples and their impact on the evaluation of foodstuffs quality.