Food additive databasecolorChecked 2026-10-02

Lac Color ラック色素

Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list

Purpose: color
On the label: “着色料（ラック）” (colorant (lac)), “ラック色素” (lac color), “ラッカイン酸” (laccaic acid)
Name in the List of Existing Food Additives: ラック色素 (No. 308)
Source and production: A red pigment obtained from the secretion of the lac insect (Laccifer spp.), with laccaic acids as the main component. It may contain dextrin or lactose.

In Japan

A red colorant with laccaic acids as its main component, obtained from the secretion of the lac insect (definition in the List of Existing Food Additives and the Japanese Standards for Food Additives).
Because it is a colorant, it is written together with the purpose name, as in “着色料（ラック）” (colorant (lac)). When the name contains the character “色” (color), as in “ラック色素”, “着色料” (colorant) can be omitted.
Under the standard for use for natural colorants, it cannot be used in kelp (konbu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish, tea, nori seaweed, beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed.

Japan's standards for use

Cannot be used in kelp (konbu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish (including whale meat), tea, nori seaweed, beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed (standard for use for “colorants (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 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.
Shellac, made from the secretion of the same lac insect, is listed separately as the glazing agent E904.

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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