also: Vegetable carbon black · Carbo medicinalis vegetabilis · Plant charcoal · CI 77266
Charred plant material, such as coconut shell, that makes liquorice and charcoal buns black. The concern is what burning leaves behind, including a compound that causes cancer.
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Dextrose, Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Anti-Caking Agent: E470, Maltodextrin, Thickener: E414, Emulsifier: E471, Corn Starch, Glazing Agents: E904, E903, Colour: E153, Gelatine
Vegetable carbon can hold traces of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including benzo[a]pyrene, which IARC classes as causing cancer in humans (Group 1).
UK supermarket foods that declare E153: 169 of the 43,325 we checked (0.4%)
Counted by its code or its name in the ingredient list.
Counted by NutraSafe from UK supermarket ingredient lists, September 2026. How we counted
Why it’s worth knowing. Vegetable carbon can hold traces of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including benzo[a]pyrene, which IARC classes as causing cancer in humans (Group 1). In 2026 European reviewers recommended tighter PAH limits after some commercial samples went over the proposed limits. It also contains some nano-sized particles, and regulators have not settled that question.
Vegetable carbon is a powdery black material made by charring plant materials, usually coconut shell, wood, peat or plant fibre. The char is treated with steam or carbon dioxide to make it porous, then washed with acid to cut heavy metals and ash. It has no smell or taste and does not dissolve in water or fat.
It reflects almost no light, so it gives an intense black. Because it does not dissolve, it is mixed into a carrier such as glucose syrup before use.
Black sweets such as liquorice and black jelly beans, charcoal bread rolls and black macarons, coatings on cheese rinds, imitation caviar and fish roe, and collagen sausage skins. UK labels call it vegetable carbon or E153.
Charring plant material always produces some PAHs, and how much varies widely between makers and batches. Benzo[a]pyrene, the PAH used as a marker in the rules, is classed by IARC as causing cancer in humans. In 2026 European reviewers found some commercial E153 samples above the tighter limits being proposed, and recommended a lower benzo[a]pyrene limit plus a new limit for a group of four PAHs.
Benzo[a]pyrene, which can be an impurity in vegetable carbon, is classed as causing cancer in humans (Group 1) by IARC, based on extensive animal data and evidence that it damages DNA.
They set no numerical daily limit because the toxicity data were too limited.
Reviewing commercial sample data from industry, reviewers found some samples above the highest proposed benzo[a]pyrene limit and four above the highest proposed limit for four PAHs, and recommended a lower benzo[a]pyrene limit and a new four-PAH limit.
The lab methods currently used to measure PAHs in activated and vegetable carbon were found not fit for purpose, which adds uncertainty about how accurately contamination in food-grade E153 is measured.
European reviewers confirmed in 2012 that E153 contains some very small particles, including nano-sized ones under 100 nanometres, and that the data on them were not enough to judge their safety. They looked again in 2026, but the particle-size data industry supplied had flaws in method, so the question is still open.
Reviewers confirmed nanoparticles are present in vegetable carbon and recommended adding nano-scale considerations to the risk assessment. The data did not allow the material to be fully described.
The microscope data submitted to describe particle size had flaws in sample preparation and imaging, so a valid nanoparticle assessment was not possible, and the data did not support changing the particle-size rules.
Because it is made from plants heated to high temperatures, vegetable carbon can hold traces of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury. The 2026 review recommended lowering the limits for these and adding a limit for aluminium.
Reviewers recommended lowering the EU limits for arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead in E153 and adding an aluminium limit. At the current arsenic limit, margins of exposure were below safety thresholds.
Daily limit. None set. European reviewers (2012) and the international committee found the toxicity data too limited.
It is not allowed in infant formula or foods for babies and young children. If a black or very dark food lists vegetable carbon or E153, that is what is colouring it.
All commercially made vegetable carbon contains some PAHs, because charring always produces them, and benzo[a]pyrene, the marker PAH, causes cancer in humans. The 2026 European review found some commercial samples above the tighter limits proposed. A separate question, whether the nano-sized particles pose any risk, is still unanswered after two reviews, because the industry data were not good enough. The rules are being revised.
No. E153 is approved in the UK and is on the Food Standards Agency's list. It may be used in foods including sweets and cheese coatings.
The US FDA has not approved vegetable carbon as a food colour. That needs a formal petition showing safety, and none has succeeded. The main regulatory worry is PAH contamination and the lack of agreed ways to measure it. Foods coloured with E153 cannot be legally sold in the US.
Black liquorice, black jelly beans, charcoal bread rolls, black macarons, imitation caviar, collagen sausage skins and some cheese rind coatings. It is behind most deep black food colours in UK and EU products. Look for vegetable carbon or E153.
Yes. It is made entirely from plant materials, such as coconut shell, wood, peat or plant fibre, with nothing from animals.
Last reviewed: 9 November 2026
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