Food additive databasecolorChecked 2026-10-02

Monascus Yellow ベニコウジ黄色素

Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list

Purpose: color
On the label: “ベニコウジ黄色素” (monascus yellow pigment), “モナスカス黄色素” (monascus yellow pigment), “紅麹色素” (red yeast rice pigment), “着色料（紅麹）” (colorant (red yeast rice)), “着色料（モナスカス）” (colorant (monascus))
Name in the List of Existing Food Additives: ベニコウジ黄色素 (No. 261)
Source and production: Obtained from a culture of filamentous fungi of the genus Monascus (limited to Monascus pilosus and Monascus purpureus). The main components are xanthomonasins (definition in the specifications).

In Japan

A yellow colorant obtained from a culture of Monascus fungi (Specifications and Standards for Food Additives, 10th edition). Under the standards for use for colorants (excluding chemically synthesized ones), it cannot be used in kelp (kombu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish (including whale meat), tea, nori seaweed, beans, vegetables, and wakame seaweed.
If the name contains the character for “color” (色), as in “ベニコウジ黄色素” or “紅麹色素”, the purpose name “着色料” (colorant) can be omitted. When the short names “紅麹” or “モナスカス” are used, the purpose name is written alongside, as in “着色料（紅麹）”.
The short names “紅麹”, “紅麹色素”, “モナスカス”, and “モナスカス色素” overlap with the short names and alternative names of monascus pigment, an existing food additive, so the name alone does not tell you which pigment it is.

Japan's standards for use

Standard for colorants (excluding chemically synthesized ones): must not be used in kelp (kombu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish (including whale meat), tea, nori seaweed, beans, vegetables, and wakame seaweed

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 color

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