Food additive databasecolorChecked 2026-10-02

Food Red No.104 (Phloxine) 食用赤色104号（別名フロキシン）

Designated additiveNot on the EU additive list

Purpose: color
On the label: “着色料（赤104）” (coloring (Red 104)), “着色料（赤色104号）” (coloring (Red No. 104))
Name in the List of Designated Additives: 食用赤色104号（別名フロキシン） (No. 220)

In Japan

One of the tar-based dyes, a coloring that gives a red color. There is no upper limit on the amount, but it may not be used in designated foods such as castella sponge cake (kasutera), soy sauce, meat, fresh fish and shellfish, vegetables, tea, and miso (standards for use).
Because it is a coloring, the purpose name is written alongside, as in “着色料（赤104）” (coloring (Red 104)). Its short names are “赤色104号” (Red No. 104) and “赤104” (Red 104) (CAA, Annex to the Food Labeling Standards explanatory notice).

Japan's standards for use

May not be used in the following foods: castella sponge cake (kasutera), roasted soybean flour (kinako), pickled fish, pickled whale meat, kelp (kombu), soy sauce, meat, meat products, sponge cake, fresh fish and shellfish (including whale meat), tea, nori (laver), marmalade, legumes, miso, noodles (including wonton), vegetables, wakame

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.

When it is labeled under a shared name

Food Red No.104 (Phloxine) may be declared on the label in the same way as “合成着色料（タール色素）”. See Synthetic food colors (coal-tar dyes) for details.

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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