Food additive databasecolorChecked 2026-10-02

Beet Red ビートレッド

Existing food additivePermitted in the EU (E162)

Purpose: color
On the label: “ビートレッド” (beet red), “アカビート色素” (red beet color), “野菜色素” (vegetable color), “着色料（アカビート）” (colorant (red beet))
Name in the List of Existing Food Additives: ビートレッド (No. 228)
Source and production: Obtained from the root of beet (Beta vulgaris). The main components are isobetanin and betanin.

In Japan

A red-purple colorant obtained from beet root. Under the standard for use for colorants (excluding chemically synthesized products), it cannot be used in kelp (konbu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish, tea, nori seaweed, beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed.
Because it is a colorant, the purpose name must be written alongside. When labeled by substance name as “ビートレッド”, “アカビート色素”, or “野菜色素”, “アカビート色素” and “野菜色素” contain the character “色” (color), so “着色料” (colorant) can be omitted; when the short name “アカビート” (red beet) is used, it is written “着色料（アカビート）” (colorant (red beet)) (Food Labeling Standards). “ビートレッド” does not contain “色”, so it becomes “着色料（ビートレッド）” (colorant (beet red)).

Japan's standards for use

Standard as a colorant (excluding chemically synthesized products): must not be used in kelp (konbu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish (including whale meat), tea, nori seaweed, beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed

This is a summary of the standards for use. See the source list for the exact conditions.

In the EU

It is on the EU list of food additives (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II) as E162.
Its name in the EU is “Beetroot Red, betanin” (E162).

Sources

Checked 2026-10-02. Rules and evaluations change over time. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.

This page lists facts stated in laws and in evaluations by public bodies; it is not a safety verdict. Additives used in Japan are approved by the government, which sets the foods and amounts they can be used in. The ADI is a guide to the amount that is considered safe to take every day over a lifetime.

Other substances used as color

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