Lutein esters from Tagetes erecta
INS 161b(iii)
Used as a colour.
Lutein esters from marigold are a yellow food colour. The same flower is fed to hens to deepen yolk colour, but this listing is the extracted pigment used in food directly.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. | ||
| Codex Alimentarius | Permitted | no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) | CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 161b(iii)retrieved 2026-09-07 |
What it is made from
Extracted from the flowers of Tagetes erecta, the Aztec marigold, where lutein occurs bound to fatty acids as esters.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Every name it appears under
0 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
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/lutein-esters-from-tagetes-erecta.json