As previously covered on this blog, on December 14, 2016, FDA announced the publication of Draft Guidance on “Fruit Juice and Vegetable Juice as Color Additives in Food” to assist manufacturers in determining whether a color additive derived from a particular plant material meets the specifications for fruit juice under § 73.250 or vegetable juice under § 73.260.  This guidance, including FDA’s interpretation of the terms used in § 73.250 and § 73.260, is limited to these specific color additive regulations.

On February 28, 2017, FDA announced the reopening of the comment period on its Draft Guidance on “Fruit Juice and Vegetable Juice as Color Additives in Food” for 60 days to allow interested parties additional time to submit comments.

This guidance aims to clarify when juices from fruits and vegetables may be used as color additives in food under existing authorizations without additional premarket review and approval from FDA under its color additive petition process.