日本語
Food additive databaseprocessing agentChecked 2026-10-02

Charcoal 木炭

Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list
Purpose
processing agent
On the label
“木炭” (charcoal) (not labeled when it counts as a processing aid)
Name in the List of Existing Food Additives
木炭 (No. 298)
Source and production
Obtained by carbonizing the stems of madake and moso bamboo, or the trunks, branches, or seeds of white birch, Korean pine, ubame oak, and similar trees.

In Japan

  • A manufacturing agent made into charcoal from bamboo (madake and moso) stems, or from the trunks, branches, and seeds of white birch, Korean pine, ubame oak, and similar trees. There are no standards for use.
  • There is no group name for manufacturing agents, so it is labeled by substance name. When it counts as a processing aid (for example, removed during manufacturing), labeling is omitted.
  • “植物炭末色素” (vegetable carbon black color), a coloring, and “活性炭” (activated carbon) and “骨炭” (bone charcoal), manufacturing agents, are treated as separate items.

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

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 processing agent

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