日本語
Food additive databasecolorChecked 2026-10-02

Sandalwood Red シタン色素

Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list
Purpose
color
On the label
“シタン色素” (sandalwood color), “サンダルウッド色素” (sandalwood color), “着色料（サンダルウッド）” (coloring (sandalwood)), “フラボノイド色素” (flavonoid color), “着色料（フラボノイド）” (coloring (flavonoid))
Name in the List of Existing Food Additives
シタン色素 (No. 146)
Source and production
Obtained from the trunk and branches of red sandalwood (Pterocarpus santalinus), with santalin as the main component. May contain dextrin or lactose.

In Japan

  • A coloring agent obtained from the trunk and branches of red sandalwood, with santalin as the main component (Japanese Standards of Food Additives). Under the standards for use common to natural coloring agents, it cannot be used in kelp (kombu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish, tea, nori (seaweed), beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed.
  • Another name is “サンダルウッド色素” (sandalwood color), and the short names are “サンダルウッド” (sandalwood), “フラボノイド” (flavonoid), and “フラボノイド色素” (flavonoid color). If the name includes the character for “color” (色), the purpose name “着色料” (coloring) can be omitted (the 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 of coloring agents (excluding chemically synthesized ones))

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

← Back to the food additive database