Xanthophyll

Listed as a colour by Canada.

Listed as colours (CA)
Chemical structure of Xanthophyll, from PubChem compound 5368396
Structure from PubChem CID 5368396 (National Library of Medicine, public domain). A depiction of one compound: where a listing covers a family, or a substance has no single structure, this page shows none.

Xanthophylls are the oxygen-bearing carotenoids — lutein, zeaxanthin and their relatives — which give yellow to orange colours. Health Canada lists xanthophyll as a permitted colour without restricting it to one of them.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Xanthophyll 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

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

3 permitted uses

Show every permitted use
  • In: Apple and (naming the fruit or fruits) jam; Bread; Butter; Concentrated (naming the fruit) juice, except frozen concentrated orange juice; Fig marmalade with pectin; Fish roe (caviar); Ice cream mix; Ice milk mix; Icing sugar; (Naming the fruit or fruits) jam with pectin; (Naming the fruit or fruits) jelly with pectin; Liqueur; Lobster paste; (Naming the flavour) milk; (Naming the flavour) partly skimmed milk; (Naming the flavour) partly skimmed milk with added milk solids; (Naming the flavour) skim milk; (Naming the flavour) skim milk with added milk solids; Pickles and relishes; Pineapple marmalade with pectin; Rhubarb and (naming the fruit or fruits) jam; Sherbet; Smoked fish; Tomato catsup. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item X.1(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: Good Manufacturing Practice. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0122. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item X.1(b)
  • In: Unstandardized foods. Purpose: Food colour. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3), item X.1(c)
Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Colours (List 3)and 2 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 AdministrationNot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
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.

Canada—3 GMP

No regulator sets a figure for Xanthophyll. 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

Obtained from plant material rich in them, such as marigold petals and green leaves.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

InChIKey
KBPHJBAIARWVSC-DKLMTRRASA-N
PubChem
CID 5368396

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 38327-39-8

Other names

  • (Z)-xanthophyll
  • .beta.,3'-diol, (3R,3'R,6'R)-
  • 3,3'-Dihydroxy-alpha-Carotin
  • 4',5'-Didehydro-5',6'-dihydro-beta,beta-carotene-3,3'-diol
  • cis-Lutein
  • Lutein [M+H]+
  • Lutein ester
  • Xanthophyll
  • xanthophyll from alfalfa

Systematic names

  • (1R)-4-[18-[(1R,4R)-4-hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-yl]-3,7,12,16-tetramethyloctadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaenyl]-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohex-3-en-1-ol
  • 4-((1E,3E,5E,7E,9E,11E,13E,15E,17E)-18-(4-hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-1-en-1-yl)-3,7,12,16-tetramethyloctadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaen-1-yl)-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-ol
  • 4-[(1E,3E,5E,7E,9E,11E,13E,15E,17E)-18-(4-hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexenyl)-3,7,12,16-tetramethyloctadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaenyl]-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-ol
  • 4-[(1E,3E,5E,7E,9E,11E,13E,15E,17E)-18-(4-hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethyl-cyclohex-2-en-1-yl)-3,7,12,16-tetramethyl-octadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaenyl]-3,5,5-trimethyl-cyclohex-3-en-1-ol

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 Xanthophyll?
Xanthophylls are the oxygen-bearing carotenoids — lutein, zeaxanthin and their relatives — which give yellow to orange colours. Health Canada lists xanthophyll as a permitted colour without restricting it to one of them.
What is Xanthophyll used for in food?
It is listed as a colour — the role Canada assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Where is Xanthophyll permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
Is Xanthophyll vegan?
Yes. Xanthophyll 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

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 Xanthophyll:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.