There is a food additive called monascus powder, which is a colorant for meat products. It is also a traditional edible pigment in China. It is a natural red pigment used for cooking and coloring. When cooking, a small amount of monascus powder will be used to enhance color and fragrance, such as braised pork and cherry meat, which will be baked and colored. In some bakeries, vendors, such as Qifeng cake, can eat a small amount of monascus powder if they need bright red color.

You can also brew yellow wine. In Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, it is a tradition to brew yellow rice wine with red koji, which has a good health preserving function, and is also called red koji wine.

Bake and color. In some bakeries, vendors, such as Qifeng cake, can eat a small amount of monascus powder if they need bright red color.

Medical major. The ancient medical work Compendium of Materia Medica recorded the medicinal use of monascus. In modern times, monascus powder is widely used in drugs for lowering blood lipid and cholesterol.