Food additive databasecolorChecked 2026-10-02

Carthamus Yellow ベニバナ黄色素

Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list

Purpose: color
On the label: “ベニバナ黄色素” (safflower yellow), “カーサマス黄色素” (carthamus yellow), “紅花色素” (safflower color), “フラボノイド色素” (flavonoid color), “着色料（紅花黄）” (colorant (safflower yellow)), “着色料（フラボノイド）” (colorant (flavonoid))
Name in the List of Existing Food Additives: ベニバナ黄色素 (No. 264)
Source and production: Obtained from safflower flowers. The main components are safflor yellows.

In Japan

A yellow colorant obtained from safflower flowers. 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. The short names are “紅花黄” (safflower yellow), “紅花色素” (safflower color), “フラボノイド” (flavonoid), and “フラボノイド色素” (flavonoid color), and “紅花色素” and “フラボノイド” are shared with safflower red. A name containing the character “色” (color), such as “紅花色素”, allows “着色料” (colorant) to be omitted, but “紅花黄” or “フラボノイド” is written like “着色料（紅花黄）” (colorant (safflower yellow)) (Food Labeling Standards).

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 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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