Paprika oleoresin
Paprika oleoresinCAS 68917-78-2
Listed as a colour and a flavouring agent by the US.
Listed as colours (US) · flavouring agents and adjuvants (US)
- United States: Color additive (21 CFR part 73) — 21 CFR 73.345
- United States: Color or coloring adjunct — FDA, Substances Added to Food: PAPRIKA OLEORESIN (CAPSICUM ANNUUM L.)
- United States: Flavoring agent or adjuvant — FDA, Substances Added to Food: PAPRIKA OLEORESIN (CAPSICUM ANNUUM L.)
Paprika oleoresin is the concentrated solvent extract of sweet peppers, giving an orange-red colour to sauces, snack foods, processed meats and cheese. It is one of the most widely used plant-derived colours.
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), 파프리카추출색소 (“Oleoresin Paprika”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 파프리카추출색소: 착색료. Standard for use (사용기준) of 파프리카추출색소: (1) [must not be used in the foods listed] “파프리카추출색소는 아래의 식품에 사용하여서는 아니 된다. 1. 천연식품〔식육류, 어패류, 과일류, 채소류, 해조류, 콩류 등 및 그 단순가공품(탈피, 절단 등)〕 2. 다류 3. 커피 4. 고춧가루, 실고추 5. 김치류 6. 고추장, 조미고추장 7. 식초 8. 향신료가공품(고추 또는 고춧가루 함유 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 | 21 CFR 73.345retrieved 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 Paprika oleoresin. 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
Extracted with a solvent from the dried fruit of Capsicum annuum, after which the solvent is removed. The colour comes chiefly from capsanthin and capsorubin.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 68917-78-2
How JECFA defines it
The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.
INS 160c Paprika Oleoresin
Obtained by solvent extraction of paprika, which consists of the ground fruit pods, with or without the seeds, of Capsicum annuum L and contains the major flavouring and colouring principles of this spice; the major flavouring principle is capsaicin; the major colouring principles are capsanthin and capsorubin; a wide variety of other coloured compounds are known to be present. Only the following solvents may be used: trichloroethylene, acetone, propan-2-ol, methanol, ethanol, hexane. The solvent is subsequently removed.
Synonyms: Paprika extract, Oleoresin paprika, INS No. 160c Oleoresin paprika; Paprika extract
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Specification history
- Prepared at the 35th JECFA (1989), published in FNP 49 (1990) and in FNP 52 (1992). Metals and arsenic specifications revised at the 59th JECFA (2002). An ADI 'acceptable' was established at the 14th JECFA (1970)
- Chemical names
- Capsaicin: (E)-N-[(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-8-methyl-6-nonenamide Capsanthin: (3R,3'S,5'R)-3,3'-dihydroxy-beta,kappa-carotene-6-one Capsorubin: (3S,3'S,5R,5R')-3,3'-dihydroxy-kappa,kappa-carotene-6,6'- dione
- C.A.S. number
- 68917-78-2
- Chemical formula
- Capsaicin C 18 H 27 NO 3 Capsanthin C 40 H 56 O 3 Capsorubin C 40 H 56 O 4
- Structural formula
- Capsaicin Capsanthin Capsorbin
- Formula weight
- Capsaicin: 305.40 Capsanthin: 584.85 Capsorubin: 600.85
- Assay
- Not less than 500 ASTA Colour Value units
- DESCRIPTION
- Dark red viscous liquid
- FUNCTIONAL USES
- F lavouring agent
- METHOD OF ASSAY
- Determine the ASTA (American Spice Trade Association) Colour Value according to the following procedure: Apparatus: Spectrophotometer, capable of accurately measuring absorbance at 460 nm, absorption cells, 1 cm, matched cells with stoppers, volumetric flasks, 100 ml, with ground glass stoppers, pipette, transfer-type, 10 ml, Whatman No. 40 filter paper or equivalent Reagents - Acetone, technical grade - Cobaltous ammonium sulfate crystals ( caution : very toxic material) - Potassium dichromate, reagent grade The cobaltous ammonium sulfate should be dried one week in a desiccator containing anhydrous calcium sulfate. No preliminary treatment is needed for the potassium dichromate. Standard colour solution: 0.3005 g/L potassium dichromate plus 34.96 g/L cobaltous ammonium sulfate crystals in 1.8 M sulfuric acid solution. The absorbance of this solution (A s ) in a 1-cm cell at 460 nm should be about 0.600. Procedure: Accurately weigh a sample of 50 to 80 mg in a 100-ml volumetric flask and dilute to the mark with acetone. Allow the extraction to proceed for at least 15 min with occasional shaking. With a 10-ml pipette, transfer 10.0 ml of the extract into another 100-ml volumetric flask, and dilute to the mark with acetone. Filter the diluted extract using Whatman No. 40 filter paper or equivalent; discard the first 10 or 15 ml of filtrate. Decant a portion of the filtrate into a cell and measure the absorbance at 460 nm using acetone as a blank. Determine the absorbance (A s ) of the Standard colour solution at 460 nm. Calculation Calculate cell length and instrument correction factor, I f from: Calculate Extractable colour (ASTA colour value units) from: where A = absorbance of acetone extract at 460 nm
Identification
- Solubility (Vol. 4)
- Practically insoluble in water: partially soluble with oily separation in ethanol; insoluble in glycerin
- Spectrophotometry (Vol. 4)
- In hexane the maximum absorption is at about 470 nm
- Colour reaction
- To one drop of sample add 2-3 drops of chloroform and one drop of sulfuric acid. A deep blue colour is produced.
Purity criteria
- Residual solvent (Vol. 4)
- Dichloromethane and trichloroethylene: Not more than 30/mg/kg, singly or in combination Acetone: Not more than 30 mg/kg Propan-2-ol: Not more than 50 mg/kg Methanol: Not more than 50 mg/kg Ethanol: Not more than 50 mg/kg Hexane: Not more than 25 mg/kg
- Capsaicin
- Not more than 0.5% See description under TESTS
- Arsenic (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 3 mg/kg (Method II)
- Lead (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 2 mg/kg Determine using an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the method described in Volume 4, “Instrumental Methods.”
- Test: Capsaicin
- Weigh accurately about 5 g in a 300-ml ground joint flask. After addition of 100 ml of 70% methanol, shake for 30 min. Let the solution settle for 5 min and filter. Cover the funnel to avoid evaporation. The first 25 ml of the filtrate is discarded and the rest of the filtrate mixed well. Afterwards, solutions are prepared in 100-ml volumetric flasks in the following manner: flask 1 flask 2 flask 3 flask 4 (ml) (ml) (ml) (ml) Filtrate solution 4.00 4.00 - - Distilled water 17.80 16.80 19.00 18.00 1 N HCl 1.00 - 1.00 - 1 N NaOH - 2.00 - 2.00 Mix the solutions well and fill the flasks to 100 ml with methanol. Measure the absorbances A 1 - A 4 of the four solutions at 248 nm and 296 nm (deuterium lamp, quartz cuvettes). Calculate the concentration of capasicin from: At 248 nm: At 296 nm where 2500 = dilution 314 and 127 = correction factors Replicate determinations of (a) and (b) must not differ more than 10%, otherwise the determination is to be repeated.
Every name it appears under
1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.
As it appears in regulation
- Paprika oleoresin
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 Paprika oleoresin?
- Paprika oleoresin is the concentrated solvent extract of sweet peppers, giving an orange-red colour to sauces, snack foods, processed meats and cheese. It is one of the most widely used plant-derived colours.
- What is Paprika oleoresin used for in food?
- It is listed as a colour and a flavouring agent — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Is Paprika oleoresin banned in Europe?
- No. Paprika oleoresin 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 Paprika oleoresin 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 Paprika oleoresin vegan?
- Yes. Paprika oleoresin 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
- jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23
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