Zeaxanthin, synthetic

INS 161h(i)

Used as a colour.

Synthetic zeaxanthin is a yellow-orange carotenoid colour. Zeaxanthin and lutein are the two pigments concentrated in the macula of the human eye.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Zeaxanthin, synthetic by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
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 / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

1 food category

highest permitted level 100 mg/kg

CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 161h(i)and 1 further provisionretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Produced by chemical synthesis rather than extracted, which gives a defined single isomer.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Every name it appears under

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

INS number

  • 161h(i)

Other names

  • ZEAXANTHIN, SYNTHETIC

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 by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/zeaxanthin-synthetic.json