Food additive databasecolor, nutrient (fortification)Checked 2026-10-02
Carrot Carotene ニンジンカロテン
Existing food additivePermitted in the EU (E160a)
- Purpose
- color, nutrient (fortification)
- On the label
- “着色料（ニンジンカロテン）” (coloring (carrot carotene)), “着色料（カロテン）” (coloring (carotene)), “カロテン色素” (carotene color), “カロチン色素” (carotene color), “カロテノイド色素” (carotenoid color), “キャロットカロテン” (carrot carotene), “抽出カロテン” (extracted carotene)
- Name in the List of Existing Food Additives
- ニンジンカロテン (No. 214)
- Source and production
- Obtained from carrot roots, with carotene as the main component. May contain edible fats and oils.
In Japan
- Its main component is carotene obtained from carrot roots, and it is used as a coloring or a nutrient fortifier. When used for coloring, the standard common to natural colorings applies: it cannot be used in kelp, meat, fresh fish and shellfish, tea, laver, beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed.
- When used as a coloring, it is written like “着色料（カロテン）” (coloring (carotene)), but if the name includes the word “色” (color), as in “カロテン色素” (carotene color), the purpose name can be omitted. Other names include “キャロットカロテン” (carrot carotene), “ニンジンカロチン” (carrot carotene), and “抽出カロテン” (extracted carotene). Labeling is exempt when it is used for nutrient fortification (Food Labeling Standards).
Japan's standards for use
- When used for coloring purposes: must not be used in kelp (kombu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish (including whale meat), tea, laver (nori), beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed (standard for colorings, 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 on the EU list of food additives (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II) as E160a.
- Among the EU’s E160a (carotenes), mixed carotenes (E160a(i)) consist of carotenes from plants and carotenes from algae, and EFSA’s 2012 re-evaluation also covers carotenes from carrots.
- In its 2012 re-evaluation, the EFSA ANS Panel concluded that an ADI could not be established for carotenes.
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・保存基準各条の定義 (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)
- 食品表示基準（平成27年内閣府令第10号）第3条（加工助剤の定義、「色」の文字を含む場合の用途名の省略、栄養強化の表示免除）（e-Gov 法令検索） (Japanese)
- EFSA ANS Panel (2012) Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of mixed carotenes (E 160a (i)) and beta-carotene (E 160a (ii)) as a food additive. EFSA Journal 10(3):2593 (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.