Additives
Vegetable Carbon (E153): What It Is and Is It Safe?
Limited risk
Colour
Black pigment obtained from the incomplete incineration of plant material. Safe and permitted in the EU, but banned in the USA over historical concerns linking carbon black to impurities, though food-grade vegetable carbon avoids this.
- Category
- Colour
- Typically used in
- Sweets, licorice, cheese coatings, jams
- Regulatory status
- Approved EU/UK. Banned in USA.
- Also listed as
- Carbon Black
Scrannr flags Vegetable Carbon automatically when you scan a barcode.
Sources
Where this comes from
- EFSA (2012) — Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of vegetable carbon -E 153- as a food additive http://dx.doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2012.2592
Products
Products containing Vegetable Carbon
We're building product pages that show real UK products containing Vegetable Carbon, using Open Food Facts data. They'll appear here soon — in the meantime, scan any barcode with the Scrannr app to check for it instantly.
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