Food additive databaseprocessing agentChecked 2026-10-02

Mousouchiku extract モウソウチク抽出物

Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list

Purpose: processing agent
On the label: “モウソウチク抽出物” (moso bamboo extract) (not labeled when it counts as a processing aid)
Name in the List of Existing Food Additives: モウソウチク抽出物 (No. 296)
Source and production: Obtained by extraction with lukewarm ethanol from the crushed outer skin of the stems of moso bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycla), of the grass family. It contains 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone as a component.

In Japan

Obtained by crushing the outer skin of moso bamboo (“孟宗竹”) stems and extracting with ethanol. It contains 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone as a component. Its purpose in the List of Existing Food Additives is a manufacturing agent. No standards for use are set.
Labeling is exempt when it counts as a processing aid (Food Labeling Standards).

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

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 processing agent

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