Food additive databasebittering agentChecked 2026-10-02
Iso-α-bitter Acid イソアルファー苦味酸
Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list
- Purpose
- bittering agent
- On the label
- “苦味料” (bittering agent) (group name), “イソアルファー苦味酸” (iso-α-bitter acid), “イソアルファー酸” (iso-α acid), “ホップ” (hops)
- Name in the List of Existing Food Additives
- イソアルファー苦味酸 (No. 27)
- Source and production
- Obtained from the flowers of hops (Humulus lupulus), with isohumulones as the main component. The component specification requires a content of 20.0% or more.
In Japan
- A bittering agent obtained from hop flowers, with isohumulones as the main component. There are no standards for use.
- When used to add bitterness, it can be labeled with the group name “苦味料” (bittering agent). When labeled by substance name, another name is “イソアルファー酸” (iso-α acid), and the abbreviated name is “ホップ” (hops).
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
- 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
- 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・既存添加物名簿収載品目リスト） (Japanese)
- 第10版 食品添加物公定書（2024年、厚生労働省・消費者庁）成分規格の定義 (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.