日本語
Food additive databasecolorChecked 2026-10-02

Marigold Color マリーゴールド色素

Existing food additivePermitted in the EU (E161b)EFSA ADI 1mg per kg body weight per day
Purpose
color
On the label
“マリーゴールド色素” (marigold color), “着色料（マリーゴールド）” (colorant (marigold)), “着色料（カロチノイド）” (colorant (carotenoid)), “カロテノイド色素” (carotenoid color)
Name in the List of Existing Food Additives
マリーゴールド色素 (No. 281)
Source and production
Obtained from the flowers of marigold (Tagetes patula, Tagetes erecta, or an interspecific hybrid of them), with xanthophylls as the main component. It may contain edible fats and oils (specifications).

In Japan

  • Its purpose in the List of Existing Food Additives is colorant. The short names are カロチノイド, カロチノイド色素, カロテノイド, カロテノイド色素 (all meaning carotenoid or carotenoid color), and マリーゴールド (marigold).
  • When used for coloring, the rules require writing the purpose name alongside, but when written with the character “色” (color), as in “マリーゴールド色素” or “カロテノイド色素”, the purpose name can be omitted.
  • A standard for use common to natural colorants applies: 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

  • Must not 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 on the EU list of food additives (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II) as E161b.
  • Lutein in the EU (E161b) includes lutein extracted from marigold (Tagetes erecta).
  • In its 2012 evaluation, EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority) set an ADI (acceptable daily intake) of 1mg per kg of body weight per day (EFSA ANS).

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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