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Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of paprika extract (E 160c) as a food additive
Slight histopathological changes were observed in livers of males exposed to 5% paprika extract in their feed
(the highest dose tested, equivalent to approximately 2 500 mg paprika extract/kg bw/day).
That is a lot of paprika extract indicating quite a low level of toxicity.
Several studies in rats and mice show the carcinogenic or tumour promoting potential of capsaicin or
chilli extract, although no carcinogenic effects were observed in other studies.
For the refined exposure assessment scenario, in the brand-loyal scenario, mean exposure to paprika
extract (E 160c) from its use as a food additive ranged from 0.1 mg carotenoids/kg bw/day to
1.1 mg carotenoids/kg bw/day.
What are they saying here? For a 100 kg man that would mean potentially consuming 110 mg carotenoids per day just from E 160c! To compare, a medium carrot has 7 mg of carotenoids.
I can't find any data on different food carotenoid concentrations when using E 160 natural colouring. Maybe the concentrations are quite low in some foods but the above would indicate that they are often very high.
https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4320