Food additive databaseseasoningChecked 2026-10-02
Betaine ベタイン
Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list
- Purpose
- seasoning
- On the label
- “ベタイン” (betaine)
- Name in the List of Existing Food Additives
- ベタイン (No. 260)
- Source and production
- Separated from sugar beet molasses. The component is betaine (specifications).
In Japan
- Its purpose in the List of Existing Food Additives is seasoning. No alternative or short name is set, and it is written “ベタイン” (betaine).
- The specifications describe it as white crystals that are hygroscopic and deliquescent, with a sweet taste and a slight bitterness.
- There are no standards for use.
Japan's standards for use
There are no standards for use that limit which foods or how much (the general standards for all additives still apply).
This is a summary of the standards for use. See the source list for the exact conditions.
In the EU
- It is not on the EU list of food additives (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II), so it cannot be used as a food additive in the EU.
Sources
- List of Existing Food Additives — Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation (Japanese)
- Standards for use and storage of each additive — Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation (Japanese)
- EU food additive database (Japanese translation) — MAFF (Japanese)
- Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives — EUR-Lex
- 第10版食品添加物公定書（2024年、厚生労働省・消費者庁）成分規格・保存基準各条（定義・含量） (Japanese)
- 消費者庁「食品表示基準について」別添 添加物関係（簡略名・用途名併記・一括名・栄養強化の範囲、既存添加物名簿収載品目リスト） (Japanese)
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 seasoning
- Disodium 5'-Inosinate (Sodium 5'-Inosinate)
- Disodium 5'-Uridylate (Sodium 5'-Uridylate)
- Potassium Chloride
- Disodium 5'-Guanylate (Sodium 5'-Guanylate)
- Glutamyl-valyl-glycine
- Monoammonium L-Glutamate
- Monopotassium L-Glutamate
- Monocalcium Di-L-Glutamate
- Monosodium L-Glutamate
- Monomagnesium Di-L-Glutamate
- Disodium 5'-Cytidylate (Sodium 5'-Cytidylate)
- Calcium 5'-Ribonucleotide
- Disodium 5'-Ribonucleotide (Sodium 5'-Ribonucleotide)
- Potassium Sulfate
- L-Aspartic Acid
- Sodium Chloride-decreased Brine (Saline Lake)
- Crude Potassium Chloride（Sea Water）
- Taurine (Extract)