Annatto extracts, norbixin-based

INS 160b(ii)

Used as a colour.

Norbixin is the water-soluble form of annatto, used where the food is aqueous rather than fatty — drinks, smoked fish, some cheeses and cereals.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Annatto extracts, norbixin-based by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationNot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

66 food categories

highest permitted level 100 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.1.4 Flavoured Fluid Milk Drinks — 10 mg/kg
  • 01.6.1 Unripened cheese — 25 mg/kg
  • 01.6.2.1 Ripened cheese, includes rind — 25 mg/kg
  • 01.6.2.2 Rind of ripened cheese — 20 mg/kg
  • 01.6.2.3 Cheese powder (for reconstitution; e.g. for cheese sauces) — 50 mg/kg
  • 01.6.4.1 Plain processed cheese — 70 mg/kg
  • 01.6.4.2 Flavoured processed cheese, including containing fruit, vegetables, meat, etc. — 70 mg/kg
  • 01.7 Dairy-based desserts (e.g. pudding, fruit or flavoured yoghurt) — 20 mg/kg
  • 02.3 Fat emulsions mainly of type oil-in-water, including mixed and/or flavoured products based on fat emulsions — 10 mg/kg
  • 02.4 Fat-based desserts excluding dairy-based dessert products of food category 01.7 — 10 mg/kg
  • 03.0 Edible ices, including sherbet and sorbet — 20 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.11 Fruit fillings for pastries — 35 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.4 Canned or bottled (pasteurized) fruit — 30 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.5 — 20 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.6 Fruit-based spreads (e.g. chutney) excluding products of food category — 20 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.7 Candied fruit — 20 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.8 Fruit preparations, including pulp, purees, fruit toppings and coconut milk — 20 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.9 Fruit-based desserts, incl. fruit-flavoured water-based desserts — 15 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.5 Vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweed, and nut and seed purees and spreads (e.g. peanut butter) — 20 mg/kg
  • 05.1.3 Cocoa-based spreads, incl. fillings — 30 mg/kg
  • 05.1.5 Imitation chocolate, chocolate substitute products — 25 mg/kg
  • 05.2.1 Hard candy — 30 mg/kg
  • 05.2.2 Soft candy — 30 mg/kg
  • 05.2.3 Nougats and marzipans — 30 mg/kg
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 50 mg/kg
  • 05.4 Decorations (e.g. for fine bakery wares), toppings (non-fruit), and sweet sauces — 25 mg/kg
  • 06.3 Breakfast cereals, including rolled oats — 30 mg/kg
  • 06.4.2 Dried pastas and noodles and like products — 25 mg/kg
  • 06.4.3 Pre-cooked pastas and noodles and like products — 25 mg/kg
  • 06.5 Cereal and starch based desserts (e.g. rice pudding, tapioca pudding) — 10 mg/kg
  • 06.6 Batters (e.g. for breading or batters for fish or poultry) — 100 mg/kg
  • 06.7 Pre-cooked or processed rice products, including rice cakes (Oriental type only) — 1 mg/kg
  • 06.8.1 Soybean-based beverages — 100 mg/kg
  • 07.1.2 Crackers, excluding sweet crackers — 10 mg/kg
  • 07.1.4 Bread-type products, including bread stuffing and bread crumbs — 10 mg/kg
  • 07.1.5 Steamed breads and buns — 10 mg/kg
  • 07.1.6 Mixes for bread and ordinary bakery wares — 10 mg/kg
  • 07.2.1 Cakes, cookies and pies (e.g. fruit-filled or custard types) — 10 mg/kg
  • 07.2.2 Other fine bakery products (e.g. doughnuts, sweet rolls, scones, and muffins) — 10 mg/kg
  • 07.2.3 Mixes for fine bakery wares (e.g. cakes, pancakes) — 25 mg/kg
  • 08.1.2 Fresh meat, poultry and game, comminuted — 20 mg/kg
  • 08.2.2 Heat-treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts — 20 mg/kg
  • 08.3.1.1 Cured (including salted) non-heat treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 20 mg/kg
  • 08.3.1.2 Cured (including salted) and dried non-heat treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 20 mg/kg
  • 08.3.1.3 Fermented non-heat treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 20 mg/kg
  • 08.3.2 Heat-treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 20 mg/kg
  • 08.3.3 Frozen processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 20 mg/kg
  • 08.4 Edible casings (e.g. sausage casings) — 50 mg/kg
  • 09.2.5 Smoked, dried, fermented, and/or salted fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 50 mg/kg
  • 09.3.1 Fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms, marinated and/or in jelly — 10 mg/kg
  • 09.3.2 Fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms, pickled and/or in brine — 20 mg/kg
  • 09.3.3 Salmon substitutes, caviar and other fish roe products — 10 mg/kg
  • 09.3.4 Semi-preserved fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms (e.g. fish paste), excluding products of food categories 09.3.1 - 09.3.3 — 10 mg/kg
  • 12.2.2 Seasonings and condiments — 30 mg/kg
  • 12.4 Mustards — 30 mg/kg
  • 12.5 Soups and broths — 10 mg/kg
  • 12.6.1 Emulsified sauces and dips (e.g. mayonnaise, salad dressing, onion dips) — 30 mg/kg
  • 12.6.2 Non-emulsified sauces (e.g. ketchup, cheese sauce, cream sauce, brown gravy) — 30 mg/kg
  • 12.6.3 Mixes for sauces and gravies — 30 mg/kg
  • 12.6.4 Clear sauces (e.g. fish sauce) — 10 mg/kg
  • 13.3 Dietetic foods intended for special medical purposes (excluding products of food category 13.1) — 10 mg/kg
  • 13.6 Food supplements — 100 mg/kg
  • 14.2.6 Distilled spirituous beverages containing more than 15% alcohol — 10 mg/kg
  • 14.2.7 Aromatized alcoholic beverages (e.g. beer, wine and spirituous cooler-type beverages, low-alcoholic refreshers) — 10 mg/kg
  • 15.1 Snacks - potato, cereal, flour or starch based (from roots and tubers, pulses and legumes) — 20 mg/kg
  • 15.2 Processed nuts, including coated nuts and nut mixtures (with e.g. dried fruit) — 10 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 160b(ii)and 65 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Made by treating annatto seed extract with alkali, which converts the oil-soluble bixin into the water-soluble norbixin salt. Same plant, same pigment family, different solubility and therefore a separate listing.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Every name it appears under

2 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

INS number

  • 160b(ii)

Other names

  • ANNATTO EXTRACTS, NORBIXIN-BASED

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 by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/annatto-extracts-norbixin-based.json