Annatto extract
Annatto extractCAS 1393-63-1
Listed as a colour by Canada and the US.
Listed as colours (CA, US) · flavour enhancers (US) · glazing and surface-finishing agents (US) · flavouring agents and adjuvants (US) · formulation aids (US) · processing aids (US)
- Canada: Food colour — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3)
- United States: Color additive (21 CFR part 73) — 21 CFR 73.30
- United States: Color or coloring adjunct — FDA, Substances Added to Food: ANNATTO, EXTRACT (BIXA ORELLANA L.)
- United States: Flavor enhancer — FDA, Substances Added to Food: ANNATTO, EXTRACT (BIXA ORELLANA L.)
- United States: Surface-finishing agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: ANNATTO, EXTRACT (BIXA ORELLANA L.)
- United States: Flavoring agent or adjuvant — FDA, Substances Added to Food: ANNATTO, EXTRACT (BIXA ORELLANA L.)
- United States: Formulation aid — FDA, Substances Added to Food: ANNATTO, EXTRACT (BIXA ORELLANA L.)
- United States: Processing aid — FDA, Substances Added to Food: ANNATTO, EXTRACT (BIXA ORELLANA L.)
Annatto is the orange-yellow colour of coloured cheddar, Red Leicester, Double Gloucester and some butter. Colouring cheese began as a way to imply richness after the cream had been skimmed off, and the practice has continued for centuries.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Canada | Permitted, with conditions | no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) 8 permitted uses Show every permitted use
| Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3)and 7 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17 |
| European Union | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Great Britain | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Japan | No listing matchedThis site imports only Japan’s list of designated additives (Appended Table 1 to the Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act), matched by English name. Existing additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives are permitted outside that list and are not imported, so an empty row does not show that Japan does not permit the substance. | ||
| South Korea | Permitted, with conditions | Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 1. …Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 1. 일반식품첨가물 (general food additives), 안나토색소 (“Annatto Extract”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 안나토색소: 착색료. Standard for use (사용기준) of 안나토색소: (1) [must not be used in the foods listed] “안나토색소는 아래의 식품에 사용하여서는 아니 된다. 1. 천연식품〔식육류, 어패류, 과일류, 채소류, 해조류, 콩류 등 및 그 단순가공품(탈피, 절단 등)〕 2. 다류 3. 커피 4. 고춧가루, 실고추 5. 김치류 6. 고추장, 조미고추장 7. 식초 8. 향신료가공품(고추 또는 고춧가루 함유 제품에 한함)” The Korean is the standard as published. There is no official English translation of the current Code (the English version on MFDS’s website is the 2020 edition and has no legal effect); the English in square brackets is this site’s description of what each sentence does, not a translation of the foods or the levels. Compositional specifications (Part IV) are not imported, nor are the general standards in Part II, which apply to every additive. | Standards and Specifications for Food Additives (식품첨가물의 기준 및 규격), MFDS Notification, Part III (Standards for use, by item)retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| United States | Permitted | 21 CFR 73.30retrieved 2026-10-17 | |
| Codex Alimentarius | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. |
How much is permitted
A listing usually limits the quantity as well as the food. Only one of the forms that takes is a figure: quantum satis and good manufacturing practice permit the amount the technological effect requires and no more, which is a limit rather than the absence of one. Figures below are the range across every food category this page is listed in, and categories differ between regulators — see how much is permitted.
| Canada | — | 7 GMP, 1 no quantity stated |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | — | 1 no quantity stated |
| United States | — | 1 no quantity stated |
No regulator sets a figure for Annatto extract. That is not an absence of control: where the listing says quantum satis or good manufacturing practice, the quantity is limited to what the effect requires.
What it is made from
Extracted from the seed coat of Bixa orellana, the achiote tree of tropical America. Alkali extraction gives the water-soluble form used in cheese; oil extraction gives the fat-soluble one.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 1393-63-1
Every name it appears under
1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.
As it appears in regulation
- Annatto extract
Hazard reference values
No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.
Evidence and how bodies read it
Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.
Common questions
Assembled from what is above, in the words the questions are usually asked in. Each answer is the same statement the relevant section makes, with the same citations behind it.
- What is Annatto extract?
- Annatto is the orange-yellow colour of coloured cheddar, Red Leicester, Double Gloucester and some butter. Colouring cheese began as a way to imply richness after the cream had been skimmed off, and the practice has continued for centuries.
- What is Annatto extract used for in food?
- It is listed as a colour — the role Canada and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Is Annatto extract banned in Europe?
- No. Annatto extract does not appear on the EU's list of authorised food additives, which is not the same as being banned: the EU permits an additive only where it has authorised it, and usually the reason for an absence is that no one applied. The EU has made no finding against this substance. It does mean it may not be used as a food additive in the EU today.
- Where is Annatto extract permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada, South Korea and the US permit it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
- Is Annatto extract vegan?
- Yes. Annatto extract is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- ca retrieved 2026-10-17
- kr retrieved 2026-10-18
- ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17
Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.
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