Tomato lycopene extract; tomato lycopene concentrate

Listed as a colour by Canada and the US.

Listed as colours (CA, US)

Tomato lycopene extract is a red food colour. Lycopene is the pigment that makes tomatoes red.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Tomato lycopene extract; tomato lycopene concentrate by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New ZealandNo 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.
CanadaHealth CanadaPermitted, with conditions

highest permitted level 100 mg/kg

20 permitted uses

Show every permitted use
  • In: Apple and (naming the fruit or fruits) jam; (Naming the fruit or fruits) jam with pectin; Pineapple marmalade with pectin; Rhubarb and (naming the fruit or fruits) jam; Unstandardized fruit spreads. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 10 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(a)
  • In: Blend of prepared fish and prepared meat as set out in paragraph 18.1.3(g) of Volume 18 of the Food Compositional Standards Document. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 20 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0122, NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(b)
  • In: Chewing gum; Unstandardized confectionery coatings. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 100 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(c)
  • In: Cream cheese spread; Cream cheese spread with (naming the added ingredients); Processed cheese spread; Processed cheese spread with (naming the added ingredients); Unstandardized dairy-based dips; Unstandardized dairy-based spreads. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 20 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(d)
  • In: Dry beverage mixes, except fruit-flavoured dry beverage mixes. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 12 ppm in the beverage as consumed, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(e)
  • In: Fillings. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 20 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(f)
  • In: Filling mixes. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 20 ppm in the filling as consumed, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(g)
  • In: Frostings; Unstandardized confectionery. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 40 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(h)
  • In: Ice cream mix. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 20 ppm in the ice cream, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(i)
  • In: Ice milk mix. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 20 ppm in the ice milk, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(j)
  • In: Mashed fruit for use in yogurt; Mashed fruit for use in yogurt-based beverages. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 30 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(k)
  • In: Non-alcoholic carbonated water-based flavoured and sweetened beverages; Unstandardized coffee beverages; Unstandardized tea beverages; Unstandardized vegetable-based beverages. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 12 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(l)
  • In: Non-carbonated sweetened flavoured water-based beverages with vitamin and mineral nutrients added except beverages with vitamins added in accordance with Part D of the Food and Drug Regulations; Sports drinks. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 3 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0143. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(m)
  • In: Non-carbonated unsweetened flavoured coloured water beverages. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 3 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(n)
  • In: Simulated meat products. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 30 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(o)
  • In: Unstandardized dairy-based beverages. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 20 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(p)
  • In: Unstandardized dairy-based dry beverage mixes. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 20 ppm in the beverage as consumed, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(q)
  • In: Unstandardized desserts; Sherbet. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 20 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(r)
  • In: Unstandardized dry sauce mixes. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 15 ppm in the sauce as consumed, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(s)
  • In: Unstandardized sauces. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: 15 ppm, calculated as lycopene. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0099. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item L.2(t)
Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3)and 19 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSANo 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 BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards ScotlandNo 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.
JapanConsumer Affairs AgencyNo 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 KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug SafetyNo 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 StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 73.585retrieved 2026-10-17
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot 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.

Canada3 mg/kg – 100 mg/kg14 numeric limit, 6 no quantity stated
United States—1 no quantity stated

What it is made from

Extracted from ripe tomatoes, often from processing by-products such as skins and seeds.

  • 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

  • Tomato lycopene extract; tomato lycopene concentrate

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 Tomato lycopene extract; tomato lycopene concentrate?
Tomato lycopene extract is a red food colour. Lycopene is the pigment that makes tomatoes red.
What is Tomato lycopene extract; tomato lycopene concentrate used for in food?
It is listed as a colour — the role Canada and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is Tomato lycopene extract; tomato lycopene concentrate banned in Europe?
No. Tomato lycopene extract; tomato lycopene concentrate 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 Tomato lycopene extract; tomato lycopene concentrate permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada 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 Tomato lycopene extract; tomato lycopene concentrate vegan?
Yes. Tomato lycopene extract; tomato lycopene concentrate 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

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 Tomato lycopene extract; tomato lycopene concentrate:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.