Home › Ingredients › Food colours › E153
Check the sourceIs E153 (Vegetable carbon) halal?
It depends on the source. It can be made from plants, by fermentation or synthetically, or from animal fat or tissue, and the label rarely says which. Should be plant charcoal, but carbon black can also be made from bone char.
What E153 is used for
Vegetable carbon is used as a colour. On Australian labels it usually appears by its function and number, for example "colour (153)", without the letter E.
How to tell if it's halal
Look for a halal certifier's logo, or a source named on the label, such as "emulsifier (471, from vegetable oil)". If there's neither, email the manufacturer and ask where it comes from.
Products in our directory that contain it
- Allen's Snakes Alive 200g: contains haram ingredient
Check a label with E153
Paste the full ingredient list into our label checker. It flags E153 along with every other additive that needs a second look.