Brilliant Black BN
What it does
Black colour.
How it's made
Synthetic azo dye.
Brilliant black BN is a synthetic black or very dark colour, used in small amounts and often to deepen or modify other colours in products such as sauces, sweets and desserts rather than as a stand-alone black.
It is a diazo dye — carrying two azo linkages — made by chemical synthesis from petroleum-derived aromatics. The process forms two nitrogen–nitrogen bonds by successive diazotisation and coupling steps, and sulphonic-acid groups are included to make the very dark molecule dissolve in water.
The dye is purified and standardised, with limits on residual materials, and supplied as a black powder or granules. As one of the azo-type colours regulated in the UK and EU, foods containing brilliant black must carry the warning about a possible effect on children's activity and attention.
Possible reactions
Possible intolerance in sensitive individuals.