Modified hop extract
Modified hop extractModified hop extracts give beer bitterness that survives light. Ordinary hop bitter acids break down in light to 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol, a compound also found in skunk spray; the reduced forms do not, which is why some beers in clear glass do not taste light-struck.
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), 변성호프추출물 (“Modified Hop Extract”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 변성호프추출물: 향미증진제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 변성호프추출물: (1) [may be used only in the foods listed] “변성호프추출물은 아래의 식품에 한하여 사용하여야 한다. 1. 맥주 2. 기타주류(발아된 맥류를 원료로 제조한 제품에 한함) 3. 탄산음료(발아된 맥류를 원료로 제조한 제품에 한함)” 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 | Permitted, with conditions | 21 CFR 172.560retrieved 2026-10-17 | |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| United States | — | 1 no quantity stated |
No regulator sets a figure for Modified hop extract. 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 it is made from
Made by extracting hops with carbon dioxide, then chemically reducing the bitter acids to forms that light cannot break apart in the same way.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
Every name it appears under
1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.
As it appears in regulation
- Modified hop extract
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 Modified hop extract?
- Modified hop extracts give beer bitterness that survives light. Ordinary hop bitter acids break down in light to 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol, a compound also found in skunk spray; the reduced forms do not, which is why some beers in clear glass do not taste light-struck.
- Is Modified hop extract banned in Europe?
- No. Modified hop extract does not appear on the EU's list of authorised food additives, which is not the same as being banned: the EU permits an additive only where it has authorised it, and usually the reason for an absence is that no one applied. The EU has made no finding against this substance. It does mean it may not be used as a food additive in the EU today.
- Where is Modified hop extract permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, South Korea and the US permit it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
- Is Modified hop extract vegan?
- Yes. Modified hop extract is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- kr retrieved 2026-10-18
- ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17
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 Modified hop extract:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.