Vegetable Carbon

E153
Hazard level: No known concerns Colourant (E100–199)

What is Vegetable Carbon?

Black pigment made from charred plant material, used to color foods like black liquorice and novelty snacks.

Is Vegetable Carbon safe?

Vegetable Carbon has no known health concerns in the amounts typically used in food.

Score impact: No penalty on the FoodsScan score (FoodsScan scores run 0–100, where 100 is best.)

Found in 19 of 12,874 analysed products in the FoodsScan database.

Regulatory sources: EFSA

Advertisement

Also known as

Vegetable Carbon is also known as e153, carbon black, vegetable carbon, растителен въглен — these all refer to the same ingredient.

vegetable carbon carbon black e153 растителен въглен

Where Vegetable Carbon is typically found

Snacks Sweet Snacks

Related additives

Sugar (Sucrose) Natural Flavouring Glucose Syrup Citric Acid (E330) Salt (Sodium Chloride) Water wheat Beta-Carotene (E160a) Whey Powder (Dried Whey) Curcumin (E100) Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) (E101) Tartrazine (E102) Quinoline Yellow (E104) Sunset Yellow FCF (E110) Carmine (Cochineal extract) (E120) Polydextrose (E1200)

Products containing Vegetable Carbon

← All ingredients