Food additive databasecolorChecked 2026-10-02

Cacao Color カカオ色素

Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list

Purpose: color
On the label: “カカオ色素” (cacao pigment), “ココア色素” (cocoa pigment), “着色料（カカオ）” (colorant (cacao)), “フラボノイド色素” (flavonoid pigment), “着色料（フラボノイド）” (colorant (flavonoid))
Name in the List of Existing Food Additives: カカオ色素 (No. 48)
Source and production: Obtained by extracting the roasted, fermented seeds of cacao (cacao beans) with an alkaline aqueous solution and neutralizing. The main component is a polymer of anthocyanin.

In Japan

A brownish colorant obtained from cacao beans. Under the standard for use common to natural colorants, it cannot be used in kelp (kombu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish, tea, nori (laver) products, beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed.
If the name contains the character “色” (color), as in “カカオ色素” and “ココア色素”, the purpose name “着色料” (colorant) can be omitted. When written with the simplified names “カカオ” (cacao) or “フラボノイド” (flavonoid), it is written like “着色料（カカオ）” (colorant (cacao)) (Food Labeling Standards).

Japan's standards for use

When used for coloring: must not be used in kelp (kombu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish (including whale meat), tea, nori (laver) products, beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed (the standard for use for colorants (excluding chemically synthesized products))

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

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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