Lecithin レシチン

How it appears on labels

Labeling rules

• “乳化剤” (emulsifier) is a group name. Whatever food additive is used as an emulsifier, it can be written simply as “乳化剤” (emulsifier) (Food Labeling Standards, Appended Table 7).
• The substance name can be added after the group name, as in “乳化剤（レシチン）” (emulsifier (lecithin)). But if emulsifiers other than lecithin are also used, it cannot be written “乳化剤（レシチン）” (the Consumer Affairs Agency's Q&A on the Food Labeling Standards, item 加工-79).
• Food additives made from ingredients that require allergen labeling, such as soy or eggs, also need allergen labeling (Q&A item E-6). The Q&A (item E-21) gives “レシチン（大豆由来）” (lecithin (derived from soy)) as an example of the contents of an additive preparation.
• In the EU, the substance name or E number must be written rather than a group name, and lecithin is “E322” (additive database).

Good to know

• The infant formula on this site says “レシチン” (lecithin) rather than “乳化剤” (emulsifier). The manufacturer has not published why it is used in this product.

Products on this site that contain it

Product pages are in Japanese for now; each one reads every ingredient on the label.

Related pages

• Additive database: Emulsifiers
• Ingredient: Vitamins, minerals and other additions to infant formula

Sources

• Food Labeling Standards (Cabinet Office Ordinance No. 10 of 2015) — e-Gov Japanese Law Search
• Q&A on the Food Labeling Standards (revised March 28, 2025) — Consumer Affairs Agency

Sources are in Japanese unless noted otherwise. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.