Butterfly Pea Flower Colour: Rules, Labels and Supplier Questions

Butterfly pea flower extract is a dark blue colour additive made from the dried flower petals of Clitoria ternatea. In the United States, it is listed in 21 CFR 73.69 (eCFR version of 6 October 2026) and permitted in a defined list of foods. In the EU, the Commission's non-binding Novel Food status Catalogue, latest update 8 May 2023 and read on 11 October 2026, gives the flowers the status "NOT NOVEL IN FOOD SUPPLEMENTS" and flags other food uses as possibly needing novel food authorisation. Thailand's FDA names it, as อัญชัน, on a list of plants or animals permitted for colour extracts that it updated on 24 July 2026 (our translation; converted from the Buddhist Era date).

What Is Butterfly Pea Flower and What Is It Called?

The FDA describes Clitoria ternatea as "commonly known as the butterfly pea plant". 21 CFR 73.69 names anthocyanins as the extract's principal colouring component.

Singapore's National Parks Board lists common names for Clitoria ternatea that include Butterfly Pea, Blue Pea, Bunga Telang and 蝶豆 (species record updated 10 August 2022). Thailand's FDA lists the plant as อัญชัน, with the English name "Butterfly pea/ Blue pea" and the flower as the part used (our translation of ดอก).

See our annatto guide.

How Does the US Regulate Butterfly Pea Flower Extract?

The FDA added 21 CFR 73.69 by a final rule published on 2 September 2021, effective 5 October 2021. A final amendment and order published on 12 May 2025 expanded the permitted uses with effect from 26 June 2025.

In the eCFR version of 6 October 2026, paragraph (c) of 73.69 says the extract may be used for colouring "alcoholic beverages, sport and energy drinks, flavored or carbonated water, fruit drinks (including smoothies and grain drinks), carbonated soft drinks (fruit-flavored or juice, ginger ale, and root beer), fruit and vegetable juice, nutritional beverages, chewing gum, teas, coated nuts, liquid coffee creamers (dairy and non-dairy), ice cream and frozen dairy desserts, hard candy, dairy and non-dairy drinks, fruit preparations in yogurts, soft candy, ready-to-eat cereals, crackers, snack mixes, hard pretzels, plain potato chips (restructured or baked), and plain corn chips, tortilla chips, and multigrain chips".

"Amounts must be consistent with good manufacturing practice." The extract may not be used for colouring foods with standards of identity issued under section 401 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, "unless the use of added color is authorized by such standards".

Under 73.69(b), the extract must have a pH of not less than 3.0 and not more than 4.5 at 25 °C, and not more than 1 mg/kg each of lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium, and it must be free from other impurities to the extent good manufacturing practice can avoid them. Section 73.69(a)(2) states: "Color additive mixtures for food use made with butterfly pea flower extract may contain only those diluents that are suitable and are listed in this subpart as safe for use in color additive mixtures for coloring foods." Its batches are exempt from the certification requirements of section 721(c) of the Act.

How Is Butterfly Pea Flower Extract Labelled in the US?

Under 73.69(d), the label of the colour additive, and of any mixtures made from it intended solely or in part for colouring, must conform to 21 CFR 70.25. Section 70.25(a) (eCFR, 6 October 2026) requires, among other things, "(1) The name of the straight color or the name of each ingredient comprising the color additive, if it is a mixture" and "(2) A statement indicating general limitations for the use of the color additive".

On a finished food, other than foods covered by §§ 105.62 and 105.65, 21 CFR 101.22(k)(2) (eCFR, 6 October 2026) permits colour additives not subject to certification and "not otherwise required by applicable regulations in part 73 of this chapter to be declared by their respective common or usual names" to be declared as "Artificial Color", "Artificial Color Added" or "Color Added", or by "an equally informative term that makes clear that a color additive has been used in the food". Alternatively they may be declared as "Colored with" followed by the name of the colour additive listed in part 73, or as that name followed by "color". Under 101.22(k)(3) of that version, colourings added to butter, cheese or ice cream need not be declared unless a part 73 or part 74 regulation requires it, though voluntary declaration is recommended.

What Did the FDA Conclude About Safety?

In its 2021 rule, the FDA estimated eaters-only exposure from the uses then proposed at 453 mg per person per day at the 90th percentile for the US population aged 2 years and older. It agreed that the no observed adverse effect level in a 90-day study was the highest dose tested, 3,500 mg/kg/d of extract, "nearly 500-fold" that exposure.

The FDA reported that, according to the petitioner's analytical evidence, cyclotides identified in the petals were not detected in the extract, and concluded there is no toxicity concern for cyclotides from consuming the extract. Noting that the extract contains 8 to 12 per cent protein by weight, it pointed to the ultrafiltration that 73.69(a)(1) requires and agreed it is "extremely unlikely" that the proteins could act as allergens.

For the 2025 expansion, the petitioner estimated eaters-only cumulative exposure at 467 mg per person per day at the 90th percentile for the same population. The FDA concluded that the new uses are reasonably safe under the intended conditions of use and that the extract "presents an insignificant allergy risk".

What Do EU Texts Say About Butterfly Pea?

In the 18 August 2026 consolidation of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex I point 2 states: "Preparations obtained from foods and other edible natural source materials obtained by physical and/or chemical extraction resulting in a selective extraction of the pigments relative to the nutritive or aromatic constituents are colours within the meaning of this Regulation". Article 3(2)(a)(ii) excludes from food additives "foods, whether dried or in concentrated form, including flavourings incorporated during the manufacturing of compound foods, because of their aromatic, sapid or nutritive properties together with a secondary colouring effect". Searches of that text and of Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, each in its 18 August 2026 consolidation, found no matches for "ternatea", "clitoria", "butterfly" or "blue pea".

Article 6(2) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, consolidated on 27 March 2021, states: "Only novel foods authorised and included in the Union list may be placed on the market within the Union as such, or used in or on foods, in accordance with the conditions of use and the labelling requirements specified therein." A search of the 10 August 2026 consolidation of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470, the Union list, found no matches for "ternatea", "clitoria", "butterfly" or "blue pea".

The Commission's Novel Food status Catalogue, which the Commission calls "a non-binding tool", has an entry for the flowers of Clitoria ternatea with a latest update of 8 May 2023 (read on 11 October 2026). Its status is "NOT NOVEL IN FOOD SUPPLEMENTS". It adds that any other food uses "might be considered to be novel and consequently might need to be authorised" under Regulation 2015/2283 before being placed on the EU market.

A Munich administrative court judgment of 19 November 2025 reported that the Commission, by an implementing decision of June 2022, refused authorisation of dried Clitoria ternatea flowers as a traditional food from a third country (our translation). The court reported that the Commission cited EFSA objections over insufficient information on consumption history in herbal teas and cyclotides of unknown toxicological profile in teas made from the flowers (our translation). The court found lawful an order prohibiting the claimant, once the order becomes final, from placing foods containing a Clitoria ternatea flower extract on the market; it found that the claimant used the extract in a gin mainly for its colouring properties, so the flavourings exception in Regulation 2015/2283 did not apply (our translation). We have not read the Commission decision or the EFSA report.

How Does Thailand Treat Butterfly Pea Colour Extracts?

Under quality requirements or standards of food additives, Thailand's FDA publishes requirements for colour extracts from plant or animal parts and a permitted plant or animal list (our translation). The list was updated on 24 July 2026, converted from its Buddhist Era date (our translation); the requirements document is undated and carries no notification number. The list names อัญชัน, Clitoria ternatea L., with the flower as the part used (our translation).

The requirements document lists the forms as concentrated liquid, semi-solid, powder or solid (our translation). It defines such an extract as a colouring substance from parts of plants or animals with a history of consumption as food, obtained only by physical means or by extraction with water, with no step that makes the colouring substance purer than it is in nature (our translation). It allows use in general food products in an "appropriate amount", except products in which specific Ministry of Public Health notifications prohibit colour (our translation).

It allows no contaminants except arsenic not more than 2 mg/kg and lead not more than 1 mg/kg, and its microbiological standard includes Salmonella not detected in 25 g (our translation). The food label may show the words "natural colour" with "colour extract from" followed by the part used and the name of the plant or animal (our translation of "สีธรรมชาติ" and "สารสกัดให้สีจาก").

What Should You Ask a Butterfly Pea Supplier?

• Plant and part. Confirm the species is Clitoria ternatea and the part is the flower, as in 73.69 and on Thailand's list (our translation).
• Which rule. Ask which requirements apply to each sale: 21 CFR 73.69 for US supply, or the Thai FDA requirements for colour extracts made from listed plant or animal parts for Thai supply (our translation). For the EU, ask for the legal basis in writing for any use outside food supplements, given the catalogue status above.
• Form and identity. The US listing covers the extract, which 73.69(a)(1) defines as "a dark blue liquid"; ask whether the product meets that identity and whether any mixture uses only the diluents 73.69(a)(2) allows. The Thai requirements list concentrated liquid, semi-solid, powder or solid forms (our translation).
• Specification. Ask for a certificate of analysis against that rule's specifications: pH and the four metals in 73.69(b) for the US; the arsenic, lead and microbiological limits in the Thai FDA requirements for Thailand (our translation).
• Labels. Ask for a colour additive label that conforms to 21 CFR 70.25 for US supply, and confirm the Thai label wording the product supports.
• Intended foods. Check each US use against the 73.69(c) list and the standards-of-identity exception, and each Thai use against the exception for products in which specific Ministry of Public Health notifications prohibit colour (our translation).

Is Butterfly Pea Flower Extract Permitted in US Foods?

Yes, in the foods 21 CFR 73.69 lists. In its 6 October 2026 eCFR version, paragraph (c) permits the extract for colouring those foods in amounts consistent with good manufacturing practice, and not in foods with standards of identity unless those standards authorise added colour. The original uses took effect on 5 October 2021, and the uses added in 2025, from "ready-to-eat cereals" to "multigrain chips" in that list, on 26 June 2025.

Does Butterfly Pea Flower Extract Need FDA Batch Certification?

No. Section 73.69(e), in its 6 October 2026 eCFR version, states that certification of this colour additive is not necessary for the protection of the public health, so its batches are exempt from the certification requirements of section 721(c) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Is Butterfly Pea on the EU Union List of Novel Foods?

A search of the 10 August 2026 consolidation of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470, the Union list, found no matches for "ternatea", "clitoria", "butterfly" or "blue pea". Article 6(2) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, consolidated on 27 March 2021, states: "Only novel foods authorised and included in the Union list may be placed on the market within the Union as such, or used in or on foods, in accordance with the conditions of use and the labelling requirements specified therein." The Commission's non-binding Novel Food status Catalogue, latest update 8 May 2023 and read on 11 October 2026, gives the flowers the status "NOT NOVEL IN FOOD SUPPLEMENTS" and says other food uses "might be considered to be novel and consequently might need to be authorised" under Regulation 2015/2283 before being placed on the EU market.

What Is อัญชัน?

อัญชัน is the Thai name the Thai FDA gives for Clitoria ternatea L., with the English name "Butterfly pea/ Blue pea", on its list of plants or animals permitted for colour extracts, updated on 24 July 2026 (our translation; Buddhist Era date converted). The list names the flower as the part used (our translation).