Food additive databasenutrient (fortification), colorChecked 2026-10-02
Palm Oil Carotene パーム油カロテン
Existing food additivePermitted in the EU (E160a)
- Purpose
- nutrient (fortification), color
- On the label
- “着色料（パーム油カロテン）” (colorant (palm oil carotene)), “着色料（カロテン）” (colorant (carotene)), “カロテン色素” (carotene color), “カロチン色素” (carotene color, alternative spelling), “カロテノイド色素” (carotenoid color), “抽出カロテン” (extracted carotene)
- Name in the List of Existing Food Additives
- パーム油カロテン (No. 219)
- Source and production
- Obtained from the fruit of the oil palm, with carotene as the main component. It may contain edible fats and oils.
In Japan
- Its main component is carotene obtained from the fruit of the oil palm, and it is used as a nutrient fortifier and a colorant. When used for coloring, the 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.
- When used as a colorant it is written like “着色料（カロテン）” (colorant (carotene)), but if the name contains the character “色” (color), as in “カロテン色素” (carotene color), the purpose name can be omitted. Alternative names include “パーム油カロチン” (palm oil carotene) and “抽出カロテン” (extracted carotene). When used to fortify nutrition, labeling is exempt (Food Labeling Standards).
Japan's standards for use
- When used for coloring: 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 E160a.
- E160a (carotenes) in the EU includes a specification for plant carotenes extracted with solvents from vegetable oils and similar sources (Regulation (EU) No 231/2012).
- In its 2012 re-evaluation, the EFSA ANS Panel concluded that an ADI could not be set for carotenes.
Sources
- List of Existing Food Additives — Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation (Japanese)
- Standards for use and storage of each additive — Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation (Japanese)
- EU food additive database (Japanese translation) — MAFF (Japanese)
- Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives — EUR-Lex
- 第10版食品添加物公定書（2024年、厚生労働省・消費者庁）成分規格・保存基準各条の定義 (Japanese)
- 消費者庁「食品表示基準について」本体（添加物の物質名・簡略名・増粘多糖類・用途名・加工助剤・栄養強化） (Japanese)
- 食品表示基準（平成27年内閣府令第10号）第3条（「色」「増粘」の文字を含む場合の用途名の省略、加工助剤・栄養強化の表示免除）（e-Gov 法令検索） (Japanese)
- EFSA ANS Panel (2012) Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of mixed carotenes (E 160a (i)) and beta-carotene (E 160a (ii)) as a food additive. EFSA Journal 10(3):2593 (Japanese)
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012（食品添加物の規格）E 160a (Japanese)
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.