Brilliant blue (BB) and tartrazine (TZ) are manufactured from petroleum and its products. These are the most popular consumed food dyes and are widely used in foodstuffs. Therefore, overuse of these dyes in foodstuffs and consumption of excessive amounts of these dyes can lead to health problems in humans.

The aim of this study was to develop a simple separation and preconcentration method for simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of BB and TZ dyes.

A column solid-phase separation extraction method combined with UV-Vis spectrophotometry was preferred and developed for single and simultaneous determination of BB and TZ dyes.

The preconcentration factor was obtained as 80. Relative standard deviations were below than 4%. Detection limits of the method were determined as 0.29 and 1.21 µg/L for BB and TZ, respectively. Recovery values were obtained between 95–99% and 96–100% for BB and TZ, respectively. 10.9–235.7 µg/g and 1.7–8.0 µg/mL of BB contents of real samples were determined for solid and liquid samples, respectively. TZ concentrations of solid and liquid samples were ranged between 18.7–220.7 µg/g and 5.9–7.5 µg/mL, respectively.

Quantitative extraction results and satisfactory recovery values showed that method was successful and applicable for determination of BB and TZ concentrations in real pharmaceutical, industrial, and foodstuff samples.

The method has exhibited a high preconcentration factor and effective separation against to matrix ions. The method did not need an experienced operator with high operation experience. Elution solvent can be chosen according to the availability of the chemicals in the laboratory and cheapness of the chemicals.