Food additive databasecolorChecked 2026-10-02

Orange colour オレンジ色素

Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list

Purpose: color
On the label: “オレンジ色素” (orange pigment), “カロテノイド色素” (carotenoid pigment), “カロチノイド色素” (carotenoid pigment), “果実色素” (fruit pigment), “着色料（カロテノイド）” (colorant (carotenoid)), “着色料（カロチノイド）” (colorant (carotenoid))
Name in the List of Existing Food Additives: オレンジ色素 (No. 45)
Source and production: Obtained from the fruit or peel of the sweet orange (Citrus sinensis), of the citrus family, by pressing the juice, or by extraction with hot ethanol, hexane, or acetone followed by removal of the solvent. The main pigment is a fatty acid ester of β-cryptoxanthin, which is yellow.

In Japan

A yellow colorant obtained from the fruit or peel of the orange (sweet orange); the main pigment is a fatty acid ester of β-cryptoxanthin. Under the standard for use common to natural colorants, it cannot be used in kelp (kombu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish, tea, nori seaweed, beans, vegetables, and wakame seaweed.
Because it is a colorant, the purpose name must be written alongside. If the name contains the character for “color” (色), as in “オレンジ色素”, “カロテノイド色素”, or “果実色素”, “着色料” (colorant) can be omitted, but when the short names “カロテノイド” or “カロチノイド” are used, it is written like “着色料（カロテノイド）” (Food Labeling Standards).

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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