Japan Surveys 62 Existing Food Additives and May Remove Some from the List

Japan is surveying 62 existing additives that have not undergone safety evaluation or specification setting. Existing additives with no reported manufacturing or usage information may face removal from the Existing Additives List.

On March 24, 2025, Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) announced a survey on the manufacturing, distribution, and use of 62 existing food additives that have yet to undergo safety evaluation or specification setting.

Existing food additives are those listed in the Existing Additives List, established on April 16, 1996, following the 1995 amendment to the Food Sanitation Act. While the Japanese government has conducted safety evaluations and set specifications for some of these additives, certain substances remain unevaluated due to their unique properties or other factors.

The survey aims to gather information on the manufacturing and usage of these additives to determine whether toxicity testing is necessary or if specifications can be exempted.

Enterprises involved in the sale, manufacturing, or use of these additives are requested to submit relevant information. If no reports are received for certain additives, they may be considered no longer in circulation and may be removed from the Existing Additives List in the future.

62 Existing Food Additives

No.	Name	No.	Name	No.	Name
1	Agarase	22	Grapefruit seed extract	43	Naringinase
2	Actinidin	23	Chlorophylline	44	Platinum
3	Ascorbate Oxidase	24	Enzymatically modified naringin	45	Palladium
4	Alginate Lyase	25	Enzymatically Modified Rutin（Extract）	46	Microfibrillated Cellulose
5	Anthocyanase	26	Enzymatically Hydrolyzed Licorice Extract	47	Brazilian licorice extract
6	Isomaltodextranase	27	Enzymatically decomposed apple extract	48	Fructosyl Transferase
7	Inulinase	28	Enzymatically decomposed rice bran	49	Powdered rice hulls
8	Welan Gum	29	Cane Wax	50	Pectin Digests
9	Sodium Chloride-decreased Brine (Saline Lake）	30	Acid Phosphatase	51	Maltose Phosphorylase
10	Oligogalacturonic acid	31	Oxygen	52	Maltotriohydrolase
11	Oregano extract	32	Calcinated Calcium	53	Non-calcinated calcium
12	Seaweed ash extract	33	Hydrogen	54	Melaleuca oil
13	Granite porphyry	34	Powdered stevia	55	Mousouchiku dry distillate
14	Activated Acid Clay	35	Zeolite	56	Wood chip
15	Carrageenan	36	Sage extract	57	Timber ash
16	Chitinase	37	Amino Acid-Sugar Reaction Product	58	Timber ash extract
17	Chitosanase	38	Tannase	59	L-Rhamnose
18	Redbark cinchona extract	39	Thujaplicin（Extract） Hinokitiol(Extract)	60	Lipoxygenase
19	Phellodendron bark extract	40	Copper	61	Linter cellulose
20	Cristobalite	41	Cholesterol	62	Ruthenium
21	β-Glucosidase	42	Trehalose Phosphorylase