Food additive databasePreserves color and qualityChecked 2026-09-27
Color fixative (sodium nitrite) 発色剤（亜硝酸Na）
Food additiveStricter rules abroad
- Purpose
- keeps the color of meat, prevents botulinum bacteria from growing
- On the label
- “発色剤（亜硝酸Na）” (color fixative (sodium nitrite))
Flagged additives are marked when you use the Ingredient Checker (choose others).
In Japan
- Used in ham, sausage, bacon, salmon roe (ikura), cod roe (tarako), and so on.
- In 2015, IARC classified processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans” (Group 1). This is an evaluation of processed meat as a whole food, not of nitrite itself.
- Meat products made without a color fixative are labeled “無塩せき” (muen-seki, “no curing salt”).
Under stricter rules abroad
Category: Stricter rules abroad
- To reduce the risk of forming carcinogenic nitrosamines, the EU lowered the limits for nitrite from October 2025. For many meat products, the amount that may be added is up to 80 mg per kg as nitrite ion (55 mg for heat-sterilized products), and the amount that may remain is up to 45 mg (25 mg for heat-sterilized products) (EU Regulation 2023/2108).
- The previous limit (150 mg) was by weight of sodium nitrite, while today's 80 mg is by weight of nitrite ion. Converted to sodium nitrite, 80 mg is about 120 mg, so this is a reduction of about 20%, not a “halving.”
Substances labeled this way
Related pages
Sources
- Food Labeling Standards (Cabinet Office Ordinance No. 10 of 2015) (Japanese)
- EU Regulation 2023/2108 (EUR-Lex)
- IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer): agents classified
Last checked 2026-09-27. Rules change over time. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.
The categories are not a safety verdict. Additives used in Japan are approved by the government, which sets the foods and amounts they can be used in. This page lists facts stated in laws and in evaluations by public bodies.