D-Ribose
D-RiboseCAS 50-69-1
Listed as a flavouring agent by the US.
Listed as flavouring agents and adjuvants (US)
- United States: Flavoring agent or adjuvant — FDA, Substances Added to Food: D-RIBOSE
D-Ribose is a five-carbon sugar, a building block of RNA and of the energy carrier ATP. South Korea lists it as a sweetener; in the US it appears in FDA's inventory as a flavouring and in two GRAS notices, one of which FDA answered with no questions.
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 | No listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here. | ||
| 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), D-리보오스 (“D-Ribose”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of D-리보오스: 감미료. Standard for use (사용기준) of D-리보오스: (1) [to be used under the general standard for use in II. 2. 1), the minimum amount that achieves the technical effect, with no limit set for this additive in particular] “II. 2. 1)의 규정에 따라 사용하여야 한다.” 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 | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. | ||
| 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.
| South Korea | — | 1 no quantity stated |
|---|
No regulator sets a figure for D-Ribose. 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 FDA’s inventory records
This page holds no listing for D-Ribose in the parts of 21 CFR this site reads. FDA’s Substances Added to Food inventory does carry it, as D-RIBOSE, pointing at a flavour industry number, with no 21 CFR citation, and FEMA number 3793.
Technical effects FDA records: flavoring agent or adjuvant.
The inventory is an information resource: a row means FDA holds information about the substance’s use in food, not that the substance is listed for that use. It is shown apart from the permissions above and is not counted as a US permission anywhere on this site.
GRAS notices to the FDA
A GRAS notice is a company’s conclusion that a substance is generally recognised as safe for the use it describes. FDA’s letter responds to that conclusion, for that notifier and that use. It is not a listing in 21 CFR, and it is not counted as a US permission above. The substance and use are as FDA’s inventory words them; this site matched the notice to this page by exact name.
GRN No. 243 · D-Ribose · Bioenergy, Inc.
Intended use: Ingredient in several food categories provided that D-ribose is used in conjunction with an additional carbohydrate energy source
FDA’s response (2008-11-10): FDA has no questions
GRN No. 100 · D-Ribose · Bioenergy, Inc.
Intended use: Use in food in general, including meat and poultry products, for multiple technical effects
FDA’s response (2002-09-03): Notice does not provide a basis for a GRAS determination
What it is made from
The production route is not stated by the sources cited here, so this page claims none.
- Vegan status depends on the source
- Vegetarian status depends on the source
This is not an omission. What this additive is made from is not fixed — depending on the manufacturer it may be plant, animal or microbial in origin, nobody is required to say which, and the same product can change source between production runs. Ask the manufacturer if it matters to you; a label cannot answer it.
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 50-69-1
Every name it appears under
1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.
Other names
- D-Ribose
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 D-Ribose?
- D-Ribose is a five-carbon sugar, a building block of RNA and of the energy carrier ATP. South Korea lists it as a sweetener; in the US it appears in FDA's inventory as a flavouring and in two GRAS notices, one of which FDA answered with no questions.
- What is D-Ribose used for in food?
- It is listed as a flavouring agent — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Where is D-Ribose permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, South Korea permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
- Is D-Ribose vegan?
- It depends on the source, and a label will not tell you. D-Ribose can be made from plant or animal material, manufacturers are not obliged to say which, and the same product can change between production runs. Anyone who needs to know has to ask the manufacturer.
Sources for this page
- kr retrieved 2026-10-18
Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.
Machine-readable: a JSON record of this additive is given on request —how to ask for access.
Follow changes to D-Ribose:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.