Spirulina Extract

Identifiers

INS No. 134
CAS No. 20298-86-6

Physical Description

Spirulina occurs as a fine, uniform powder or flakes, darks blue green to green in color. Spirulina extract is prepared by the filtered aqueous extraction of the dried biomass of Arthrospira platensis, and contains phycocyanins as the principal coloring components.

Common Uses

Spirulina extract can be used in a wide range of foods and beverages including flavored dairy products, cheese, dairy based desserts, processed fruits and vegetables, baked good and baking mixes, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and beverage bases, breakfast cereals, cocoa products, confectionery products (including soft and hard candy and chewing gum), egg products, gravies and sauces, herbs and spices, condiments and soup and soup mixes, as well as in nutritional supplements and pharmaceuticals.

Specifications

JECFA

US FDA

Codex GSFA Provisions

Spirulina extract (INS No 134) is a food additive that is included in Table 3 of the General Standard of Food Additives (GSFA), and as such may be used in specified foods under the conditions of good manufacturing practices (GMP) as outlined in the Preamble of the Codex GSFA.

Regulatory Approvals

JECFA: ADI “not specified” (86th meeting, 2018).

USA: Spirulina extract was permanently listed as exempt from certification in 2013, and amended in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2022. Currently, spirulina extract may be safely used to color confections (including candy and chewing gum), frostings, ice cream and frozen desserts, dessert coatings and toppings, beverage mixes and powders, yogurts, custards, puddings, cottage cheese, gelatin, breadcrumbs, ready-to-eat cereals (excluding extruded cereals), alcoholic beverages with less than 20 percent alcohol-by-volume content, non-alcoholic beverages, condiments and sauces, dips, dairy product alternatives (identified as non-dairy yogurt alternatives, non-dairy frozen desserts, and non-dairy puddings), salad dressings, seasoning mixes (unheated), coating formulations applied to dietary supplement tablets and capsules at levels consistent with GMP, and to seasonally color the shells of hard-boiled eggs,(21 CFR 73.530) coating formulations applied to drug tablets and capsules at levels consistent with GMP (21 CFR 73.1530)

EC: Spirulina extract is typically considered a coloring food in the EU, rather than a color additive. A coloring food is a food ingredient used for coloring purposes.

Safety Reviews

Safety evaluation of certain food additives (Eighty-sixth meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives) WHO food additives series no. 77, 2020. Available online