Cochineal Food Safety Rules
Is cochineal allowed in food?
Yes. Cochineal is a permitted food colour in the EU (E 120, carminic acid/carmine), Great Britain, the US, Canada and Japan. In every case it is allowed only within limits: the EU sets food categories and maximum levels, while the US and Canada mostly allow it at good manufacturing practice. The US also requires it to be named on the label. I couldn't confirm India's position.
Approach: I searched the EU food-additives Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 Annex II, the GB approved E-number list, US 21 CFR Part 73 and FDA's color-additive status list, Health Canada's Lists of Permitted Food Additives, and Japan's additive use standards. For Japan and India I also tried the official web sources.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Key conditions |
|---|---|---|
| EU | E 120 "Carminic acid, Carmine" is authorised. It belongs to Group III, the colours that share a combined maximum limit [1] | Allowed only in listed food categories, up to set levels. Examples: 200 mg/kg in fruit-flavoured breakfast cereals [2]; 125 mg/kg in red marbled cheese [3]; 100 mg/kg in sausages, with aluminium from carmine lakes capped at 1.5 mg/kg [4]. As a Group III colour it is also allowed in confectionery at 300 mg/kg combined [5] and flavoured drinks at 100 mg/l [6] |
| Great Britain | E120 "Cochineal; Carminic acid; Carmines" is on the approved list as a colour [7] | The GB list I searched gives the approval only, not the conditions of use |
| US | 21 CFR 73.100 lists cochineal extract and carmine as color additives that don't need batch certification [8]. FDA lists both as "permanently listed" [9][10] | Allowed in foods generally at good manufacturing practice. Not allowed in foods with a federal standard of identity unless that standard permits added colour. Must be pasteurised or treated to be free of Salmonella. The ingredient list must name it as "cochineal extract" or "carmine" [8]. The raw "Cochineal" entry is a separate listing that FDA shows as delisted [11] |
| Canada | Cochineal is on List 3 (permitted colouring agents) | Good manufacturing practice in a named list of standardised foods, such as jams, ice cream mix, smoked fish and liqueur [12], and in most unstandardised foods [13]. Sausage casings: 7,500 ppm, with no more than 75 ppm in the finished sausage [14] |
| Japan | "Cochineal extract" (No. 125, mainly carminic acid from cochineal insects) is on the List of Existing Food Additives, revised 25 August 2025 (FFCR English translation) | I found no cochineal-specific use standard in Japan's published additive use standards |
| India | Not confirmed | The FSSAI regulations in the datasets had nothing on cochineal or carmine, and I couldn't open the FSSAI additives chapter this time |
Two EU points that matter in practice:
- Within Group III, the maximum level applies to all Group III colours used together, not to E 120 alone.
- Many entries cap the aluminium that carmine lakes can contribute. In a number of categories carmine is the only aluminium lake allowed.
The panel document lists all 23 current individual E 120 entries and all 38 Group III entries that cover E 120, with their levels and footnotes.
Does it have to be named on the label in the US?
Yes. Any food for human use that contains cochineal extract or carmine must name it in the ingredient list as "cochineal extract" or "carmine". This includes butter, cheese and ice cream. The requirement comes from 21 CFR 73.100(d)(2), which ties the declaration to the ingredient-list rules in § 101.4 [8].
Approach: I read 21 CFR 73.100 in the eCFR version dated 11 September 2026, and the color-declaration rule in 21 CFR 101.22(k).
Why "Color Added" isn't enough:
- Most color additives that don't need certification can be listed generically. Under § 101.22(k)(2) they may appear as "Artificial Color", "Color Added", "Colored with ___" or similar. That option only applies to colors that Part 73 does not otherwise require to be declared by their common or usual name [15].
- Cochineal extract and carmine are one of those exceptions, because § 73.100(d)(2) requires the specific name. So the generic terms don't meet the rule. Neither does a name like "natural red" [8].
- Use the name that matches the material: "cochineal extract" for the concentrated extract, and "carmine" for the aluminium or calcium-aluminium lake [8].
Related labeling point: The color additive itself, and any color mixture made from it, must be labelled in line with § 70.25 [8].
The section's history line credits the current wording to an amendment at 74 FR 216 (5 January 2009) [8].
What about the UK and EU?
Yes, in both. In the EU and in Great Britain, carmine/cochineal used as a colour has to appear in the ingredient list under the category name "Colour", followed by its specific name or its E number. "Colour (carmine)", "Colour (cochineal)" or "Colour: E120" all comply. A generic word such as "colouring" on its own does not. This comes from Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (FIC), Annex VII Part C, which is worded the same in the EU text and in the retained GB version.
Approach: I read the current consolidated EU FIC Regulation (version of 1 April 2025) and Article 22 of the Food Additives Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008. The GB retained text isn't in the datasets, so I read it on legislation.gov.uk (latest revised version, last amended 27 February 2025).
EU
- Every ingredient must be listed, by its specific name where one applies. The technical rules are in Annex VII [16].
- The additives rule. Annex VII Part C says additives in the listed categories "must be designated by the name of that category, followed by their specific name or, if appropriate, E number". "Colour" is one of those categories. If an additive does more than one job, use the category for its main function in that food [17].
- How this differs from the US. In the US the name ("cochineal extract" or "carmine") is mandatory. The EU and GB also accept the E number on its own after "Colour".
- When the colour need not be listed:
- Carry-over: carmine that is present only because an ingredient contained it, and that has no technological function in the finished food [18].
- Foods that need no ingredient list at all. One example is cheese, butter or cream with nothing added beyond lactic products, enzymes, cultures and (for most cheeses) salt. Adding carmine takes a product outside that exemption [19].
- Drinks over 1.2% alcohol by volume, which don't need an ingredient list unless other EU rules require one [20].
- Carmine supplied to other businesses, not to consumers, must carry its name and/or E number, the statement "for food" (or similar), and enough information on maximum levels for the buyer to comply [21].
Great Britain
- The retained Regulation 1169/2011 applies in Great Britain. Its Annex VII Part C uses the same wording ("category name followed by specific name or, if appropriate, E number") and lists "Colour" as a category (legislation.gov.uk, Annex VII).
- The carry-over and processing-aid exemptions in Article 20(b) are also the same as in the EU text (legislation.gov.uk, Article 20).
- E120 is on the GB approved list under the names "Cochineal; Carminic acid; Carmines" [7]. A label can use one of those names or "E120" after "Colour".