Identity. (1) The color additive tomato lycopene extract is a red to dark brown viscous oleoresin extracted with ethyl acetate from tomato pulp followed by removal of the solvent by evaporation. The pulp is produced from fresh, edible varieties of the tomato by removing the liquid. The main coloring component is lycopene.

The color additive tomato lycopene concentrate is a powder prepared from tomato lycopene extract by removing most of the tomato lipids with ethyl acetate and then evaporating off the solvent.

Color additive mixtures made with tomato lycopene extract or tomato lycopene concentrate may contain only those diluents listed in this subpart as safe and suitable for use in color additive mixtures for coloring food.

Specifications. (1) Tomato lycopene extract shall conform to the following specification: Lycopene, not less than 5.5 percent of oleoresin as determined by the method entitled “Qualitative Analysis of Lycopene, Its Isomers and Other Carotenoids in Different Concentrations of Lyc-O-Mato ® (Tomato Oleoresin) and in Tomato Pulp by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC),” S.O.P. number : Lab/119/01, Revision 01, dated May 30, 2001, published by LycoRed Natural Products Industries, which is incorporated by reference, or an equivalent method. The Director of the Office of the Federal Register approves this incorporation by reference in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. You may obtain a copy of the method from the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-200), Food and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Dr., College Park, MD 20740. You may inspect a copy at theFood and Drug Administration's Main Library, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 2, Third Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301-796-2039, or at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html

Tomato lycopene concentrate shall conform to the following specification: Lycopene, not less than 60 percent of oleoresin as determined by the method identified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

Uses and restrictions. Tomato lycopene extract and tomato lycopene concentrate may be safely used for coloring foods generally in amounts consistent with good manufacturing practice, except that they may not be used to color foods for which standards of identity have been issued under section 401 of the act, unless the use of added color is authorized by such standards.

Labeling. The label of the color additive shall conform to the requirements of § 70.25 of this chapter.

Exemption from certification. Certification of this color additive is not necessary for the protection of the public health, and therefore batches thereof are exempt from the certification requirements of section 721(c) of the act.