Lycopene, tomato

INS 160d(ii)

Used as a colour.

Lycopene is the red carotenoid of tomatoes. This entry is the form obtained from tomatoes themselves, used in sauces, drinks and confectionery.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Lycopene, tomato 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

4 food categories

highest permitted level 100 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 06.4.2 Dried pastas and noodles and like products — 100 mg/kg
  • 09.2.1 Frozen fish, fish fillets, and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP
  • 09.2.4.1 Cooked fish and fish products — GMP
  • 09.2.4.3 Fried fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP
CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 160d(ii)and 4 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Extracted with solvents from ripe tomatoes or tomato processing residues, then concentrated. Codex lists the tomato, synthetic and fermentation routes separately because their specifications differ.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Every name it appears under

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

INS number

  • 160d(ii)

Other names

  • LYCOPENE, TOMATO

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/lycopene-tomato.json