Erythrosine

/ɪˈrɪθroʊsin/ noun

Definition

An alternative spelling and chemical name for erythrosin, a red synthetic dye commonly used in foods and pharmaceuticals.

Etymology

Variant of erythrosin, from Greek 'erythros' (red). The '-ine' ending is a common chemistry suffix for organic compounds.

Kelly Says

You'll see both 'erythrosin' and 'erythrosine' on ingredient labels—this is actually a case where English chemistry allows two acceptable spellings for the same molecule, which confuses consumers trying to decode their food labels.

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