Food additive databasecolorChecked 2026-10-02

Phaffia colour ファフィア色素

Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list

Purpose: color
On the label: “ファフィア色素” (Phaffia pigment), “カロテノイド色素” (carotenoid pigment), “カロチノイド色素” (carotenoid pigment, alternate spelling), “着色料（カロテノイド）” (coloring (carotenoid)), “着色料（カロチノイド）” (coloring (carotenoid), alternate spelling)
Name in the List of Existing Food Additives: ファフィア色素 (No. 232)
Source and production: Obtained by extracting a culture of yeast (Phaffia rhodozyma) at room temperature with acetone, ethanol, aqueous ethanol, hexane, or a mixture of these, then removing the solvent. The main pigment is astaxanthin, and the color is orange to red.

In Japan

An orange to red coloring extracted from a culture of the yeast Phaffia, with astaxanthin as the main pigment. Under the standards for use common to natural colorings, it cannot be used in kelp, meat, fresh fish and shellfish, tea, nori seaweed, beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed.
If it is written with a name containing the character for “color” (色), such as “ファフィア色素” (Phaffia pigment), the purpose name can be omitted. The category names are “カロテノイド” (carotenoid) and “カロチノイド” (carotenoid, alternate spelling), so it can also be written as “着色料（カロテノイド）” (coloring (carotenoid)) or “カロテノイド色素” (carotenoid pigment) (Food Labeling Standards).

Japan's standards for use

When used for coloring: must not be used in kelp (kombu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish (including whale meat), tea, nori seaweed, beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed (standards for use for coloring agents [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 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.
Astaxanthin is not on the EU list of additives (colors).

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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