E161G — Canthaxanthin
Why it’s used
A red-orange carotenoid pigment used in a narrow range of traditional sausage products in the EU (e.g., certain Swiss/German sausage specialties) and, in the US, permitted for general food use within a strict quantity cap; also used in animal feed to enhance salmon and poultry pigmentation.
Other names
Canthaxanthin
Diet flags
Regulatory status
May be used to color foods generally under 21 CFR 73.75, but not exceeding 30 mg per pound (solid/semisolid) or per pint (liquid), and not in standardized foods without provision for added color. Source (2026-07-23)
Authorised in the EU only for specific traditional sausage products under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, not for general food coloring; EFSA's 2010 re-evaluation lowered the ADI to 0.03 mg/kg bw/day due to eye/retina findings at high doses. Source (2026-07-23)
Regulatory status by region
The FDA permits canthaxanthin for general food coloring subject to a numeric concentration cap, while the EU restricts it to a narrow list of specific traditional food categories rather than general food use, following EFSA's 2010 re-evaluation which lowered the ADI over retinal-deposit concerns at high supplement doses.
EFSA's re-evaluation narrowed canthaxanthin's EU food use to specific traditional categories only, a materially different (and much more restrictive) permitted-use scope than the FDA's general-food-use-with-a-cap approach.
Found in these products
None of the products in our database currently contain E161G.