E153 — Vegetable carbon
Why it’s used
A black color made by charring plant material (wood, cellulose, peat), used to color licorice, cheese rind, and specialty black-colored foods and drinks.
Other names
Carbon black (vegetable origin), Charcoal, C.I. 77268:1
Diet flags
Regulatory status
Vegetable carbon is not an approved color additive for direct coloring of US foods; it does not appear in 21 CFR Parts 73 or 74. Source (2026-07-23)
Authorised EU-wide as E153, generally at quantum satis in permitted food categories, under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008. Source (2026-07-23)
Regulatory status by region
The FDA has not approved vegetable carbon as a food color additive, so black-colored products sold in the US typically use a different approved black colorant. The EU permits vegetable carbon in a range of food categories at quantum satis — a genuine authorization gap.
The EU treats vegetable carbon as a standard authorised natural color with no numeric maximum in most permitted categories, while the FDA has no equivalent authorization for direct food use.
Found in these products
None of the products in our database currently contain E153.