E161H — Zeaxanthin
Why it’s used
A yellow-orange xanthophyll pigment found in corn, peppers, and egg yolk, marketed mainly as an eye-health nutrient ingredient rather than a standalone food color; not separately authorised as a food color additive in the EU (it appears only as a minor component within authorised lutein/marigold extracts).
Other names
Zeaxanthin
Diet flags
Regulatory status
Zeaxanthin preparations (e.g., from paprika) have been the subject of FDA GRAS notices for use as a nutrient ingredient, but zeaxanthin is not separately listed as a color additive under 21 CFR Part 73. Source (2026-07-23)
Not separately authorised as a standalone food color under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008; it occurs only as a minor component of the authorised E161b lutein/zeaxanthin extract from Tagetes erecta. Source (2026-07-23)
Regulatory status by region
FDA's only substantive review of zeaxanthin has been through the industry self-affirmed GRAS notification pathway (GRN 000588, submitted 2015), which evaluated paprika-derived zeaxanthin specifically as a nutrient ingredient for eye-health formulations, not as a certified or exempt color additive under 21 CFR Part 73. Because a GRAS notice only needs to establish safety for its stated (non-color) use, FDA never had occasion to rule on zeaxanthin as a colorant, leaving it usable as a nutrient ingredient but without the formal color-additive listing EFSA looks for. Source: FDA GRAS Notice 000588, verified 2026-07-24.
EFSA's only dedicated opinion on zeaxanthin, published in 2008, was likewise scoped narrowly — it assessed synthetic zeaxanthin as an ingredient in food supplements, not as a candidate for the EU's food-color positive list under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008. No manufacturer has since petitioned to add standalone zeaxanthin to Annex II, so unlike the US's more permissive self-GRAS route, the EU's positive-list system leaves it fully unauthorized as a color outside the small amount naturally present in the authorized E161b lutein/zeaxanthin marigold extract. Source: EFSA Journal 2008;6(6):728 (Safety of synthetic Zeaxanthin as an ingredient in food supplements), verified 2026-07-24.
Found in these products
None of the products in our database currently contain E161H.