Phytic Acid フィチン酸

In Japan

• Obtained by extracting and purifying rice bran or corn seeds; the main component is inositol hexaphosphate. Its purposes in the list of existing food additives are acidulant and manufacturing agent. It comes as a liquid or a powder, and there are no standards for use.
• When used as an acidulant it can be written with the group name “酸味料” (acidulant), so the substance name may not appear (CAA, annex to the “Explanation of the Food Labeling Standards”). Its calcium salt, “フィチン酸カルシウム” (calcium phytate), is a separate item.

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.
• It is not permitted as a food additive in the EU (it is not on the additives list).

When it is labeled under a shared name

Phytic Acid may be declared on the label in the same way as “酸味料”. See Acidulant (acidity regulator) for details.

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
• 日本食品化学研究振興財団「既存添加物名簿収載品目リスト」（令和7年8月25日現在） (Japanese)
• 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」別添 添加物関係（簡略名・用途名併記・一括名・栄養強化の範囲、既存添加物名簿収載品目リスト） (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.