Spirulina extract
Spirulina extractListed as a colour by Canada, Codex and the US.
Listed as colours (CA, US, Codex)
- Canada: Food colour — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3)
- United States: Color additive (21 CFR part 73) — 21 CFR 73.530
- United States: Color or coloring adjunct — FDA, Substances Added to Food: spirulina extract
- Codex Alimentarius: Colour — CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 134
Spirulina extract is a blue colour obtained from cyanobacteria, and one of the few blues available from a biological source. It is used in confectionery, ice cream and drinks, and was first approved in the United States in 2013.
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 | Permitted | no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) 7 permitted uses Show every permitted use
| Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3)and 6 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17 |
| 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 | No listing matchedThis site imports Part III of South Korea’s Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, matched by CAS number, then INS number, then exact name. Mixed preparations and sanitisers are not imported, and an entry whose identifiers disagreed with a page’s is held for review, so an empty row does not show that South Korea does not permit the substance. | ||
| United States | Permitted | 21 CFR 73.530retrieved 2026-10-17 | |
| Codex Alimentarius | Permitted | no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) | CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 134retrieved 2026-09-07 |
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.
| Canada | — | 7 GMP |
|---|---|---|
| United States | — | 1 no quantity stated |
| Codex Alimentarius | — | 1 GMP |
No regulator sets a figure for Spirulina 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.
Regulatory changes
Dated acts affecting this additive, then anything the weekly comparison of the imported lists has seen move. The status panel above shows where the rules stand now; these are the decisions that got them there.
· United States
Spirulina extract expansion delayed indefinitely after objections
As of 20 March 2026, three days before it was due to apply, the effective date of the February order was delayed indefinitely, in a notice published on 24 March at 91 FR 13966. FDA said the delay was required by law once Obelisk Tech Systems Inc. filed timely objections and a request for a hearing, that it does not change FDA's determination that there is a reasonable certainty of no harm under the intended conditions of use, and that it is not a finding that the objections are valid. FDA will announce a new effective date or other action. Until then, spirulina extract remains permitted only in the foods 21 CFR 73.530 already listed.
· United States
FDA orders spirulina extract permitted in foods generally, effective 23 March 2026
The final order at 91 FR 5291 granted the GNT USA petition. It would permit spirulina extract in human foods generally at levels consistent with good manufacturing practice, except infant formula, products regulated by the US Department of Agriculture under the meat, poultry and egg products inspection acts, and foods with a standard of identity unless that standard allows added colour. It would also tighten the purity limits — lead from 2 to 0.2 mg/kg, arsenic from 2 to 0.3 mg/kg and mercury from 1 to 0.1 mg/kg — and add a cadmium limit of 0.3 mg/kg. Objections were due by 9 March 2026. The order has not taken effect.
· United States
GNT USA petitions FDA to allow spirulina extract in foods generally
FDA gave notice at 89 FR 63330 of a colour additive petition from GNT USA, LLC, filed on 18 July 2024, asking for spirulina extract to be permitted in foods generally at levels consistent with good manufacturing practice. At the time, 21 CFR 73.530 permitted it only in a listed set of foods, among them confections, frozen desserts, beverages and yogurts.
What it is made from
Extracted with water from dried Arthrospira platensis biomass grown in culture. The colour is phycocyanin, a protein-pigment complex, which makes it sensitive to heat and acid.
- 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
- Spirulina extract
Hazard reference values
| Type | Value | Population | Assessed by | Opinion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADI | not specified | — | JECFA | 2022 |
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 Spirulina extract?
- Spirulina extract is a blue colour obtained from cyanobacteria, and one of the few blues available from a biological source. It is used in confectionery, ice cream and drinks, and was first approved in the United States in 2013.
- What is Spirulina extract used for in food?
- It is listed as a colour — the role Canada, Codex and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Is Spirulina extract banned in Europe?
- No. Spirulina 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 Spirulina extract permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada, the US and the Codex standard 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 Spirulina extract vegan?
- Yes. Spirulina 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
- ca retrieved 2026-10-17
- ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17
- gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07
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 Spirulina extract:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.