YenzoWhich foods contain colour retention agents?
According to Yenzo's additive pages, E249 and E250 are common in processed meat such as sausages, cold cuts, ham, bacon and pate, often as part of a ready-mixed curing salt.
Colour retention agents in food
Colour retention agents are substances that stabilise, retain or intensify an existing colour of a foodstuff. Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Union names this function within its definition of stabilisers.
Vietnam regulates additives through a list of permitted additives (Circular 24/2019/TT-BYT, referencing international Codex standards); a substance not on the list is not permitted in Vietnam, and that is the first tier of the Yenzo Scale — see how levels are set.
Colour retention agents: high risk
High risk on Yenzo's scale. The cases at this level: it is not permitted in Vietnam (Circular 24/2019); neither JECFA nor EFSA has an ADI for it; a regulator withdrew it for safety reasons and no evaluator kept an ADI; nitrites and nitrates (EFSA 2023). How we score →
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Colour retention agents: very low risk
Very low risk: no concern at the levels used in food. How we score →
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Fun fact. An "uncured" or "no-nitrite-added" label on processed meat does not mean the curing works differently. Nitrite provides cured colour and flavour. Products labelled "uncured" or "no-nitrite-added" often use vegetable nitrate with starter cultures to generate nitrite in situ. This means the fundamental curing chemistry in the meat matrix is identical to conventional curing. U.S. regulators have acknowledged the potential for consumer confusion and have considered changes to the uncured and no-nitrite-added statements for products cured with vegetable sources. Source: Sodium, phosphate, and nitrite: from brine to brain, what matters? (Animal Frontiers, 2026)
Frequently asked questions about colour retention agents
How can I recognise colour retention agents on a label?
Labels usually write the group name with the INS number, for example “colour retention agent (250)”. A label may also write the E code, the INS code or the name of the substance. The same substance can be written in different ways.
Which colour retention agents are the most common?
Yenzo does not rank codes. Some codes of this group have a page on Yenzo: E249 (potassium nitrite), E250 (sodium nitrite), E251 (sodium nitrate). Each of them has a row in Appendix 1 of Circular 24/2019/TT-BYT with the function “chất giữ màu” (colour retention agent).
Other categories
PreservativesColoursSweetenersFlavour enhancersEmulsifiersThickenersAntioxidantsAcidity regulatorsAnticaking agentsGlazing agentsStabilizersGelling agentsSequestrantsFlour treatment agentsHumectantsCarriersFirming agentsEmulsifying saltsBulking agentsFoaming agentsRaising agentsPackaging gasesPropellantsAntifoaming agentsBleaching agentsCarbonating agentsFlavourings
Updated 28 October 2026