Food additive databasecolorChecked 2026-10-02

Spirulina Color スピルリナ色素

Existing food additiveNot on the EU additive list

Purpose: color
On the label: “着色料（スピルリナ青）” (colorant (spirulina blue)), “スピルリナ色素” (spirulina pigment), “スピルリナ青色素” (spirulina blue pigment)
Name in the List of Existing Food Additives: スピルリナ色素 (No. 158)
Source and production: A blue pigment whose main component is phycocyanin, obtained from whole spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) algae. It may contain dextrin or lactose.

In Japan

A blue colorant whose main component is phycocyanin, obtained from whole algae called spirulina (definition in the List of Existing Food Additives and in Japan's Specifications and Standards for Food Additives).
Because it is a colorant, it is written together with the purpose name, as in “着色料（スピルリナ青）” (colorant (spirulina blue)). When the name contains the character “色” (color), as in “スピルリナ青色素”, “着色料” (colorant) can be omitted.
Under the standard for use for natural colorants, it cannot be used in kelp (kombu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish, tea, nori (laver) products, beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed.

Japan's standards for use

Must not be used in kelp (kombu), meat, fresh fish and shellfish (including whale meat), tea, nori (laver) products, beans, vegetables, or wakame seaweed (the 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 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

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