Food additive databaseantioxidant, colorChecked 2026-10-02
Rutin（extract） ルチン（抽出物）
Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list
- Purpose
- antioxidant, color
- On the label
- “酸化防止剤（ルチン）” (antioxidant (rutin)), “着色料（ルチン）” (colorant (rutin)), “ルチン” (rutin), “フラボノイド” (flavonoid), “アズキ全草抽出物” (whole adzuki bean plant extract), “エンジュ抽出物” (Japanese pagoda tree extract), “ソバ全草抽出物” (whole buckwheat plant extract)
- Name in the List of Existing Food Additives
- ルチン（抽出物） (No. 321)
- Source and production
- Obtained from the whole plant of adzuki bean, the buds or flowers of Japanese pagoda tree (enju), or the whole plant of buckwheat by extraction with water, ethanol, or methanol and removal of the solvent. The main component is rutin (definition in the specifications).
In Japan
- An extract whose main component is rutin, a kind of flavonoid; its purposes in the List of Existing Food Additives are antioxidant and colorant. “酵素処理ルチン（抽出物）” (enzymatically modified rutin (extract)) and “ルチン酵素分解物” (enzymatic rutin degradation product), made by treating it with enzymes, are separate items.
- When used as a colorant, the standard for use common to colorants other than chemically synthesized ones applies (cannot be used in kelp (konbu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish, tea, nori seaweed, beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed).
- For both antioxidants and colorants the purpose name must be written alongside, as in “酸化防止剤（ルチン）” (antioxidant (rutin)). “ルチン” (rutin) and “フラボノイド” (flavonoid), as well as the source-specific “エンジュ抽出物” (Japanese pagoda tree extract), “ソバ全草抽出物” (whole buckwheat plant extract), and “アズキ全草抽出物” (whole adzuki bean plant extract), can be used as short names or category names.
Japan's standards for use
- When used as a colorant: must not be used in kelp (konbu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish (including whale meat), tea, nori seaweed, beans, vegetables, or 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
- 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
- 消費者庁「食品表示基準について」別添 添加物関係（既存添加物名簿収載品目リスト・簡略名・一括名の範囲ほか） (Japanese)
- 第10版食品添加物公定書（厚生労働省・消費者庁、2024年）成分規格・保存基準各条 (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.