Gardenia (genipin) blue
Gardenia (genipin) blueGardenia blue is one of a small group of newer natural blues, made by reacting a compound from gardenia fruit with an amino acid. Natural blues are rare, which is why several new ones have been approved in the last few years.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Permitted | 21 CFR 73.168retrieved 2026-09-07 | |
| Codex Alimentarius | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. |
What it is made from
Genipin, extracted from the fruit of Gardenia jasminoides, is reacted with an amino acid to form the blue pigment. The colour does not exist in the fruit; it is created by the reaction.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Every name it appears under
1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.
As it appears in regulation
- Gardenia (genipin) blue
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
- ecfr 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/gardenia-genipin-blue.json