Red currant rice, with indica rice, round-grained rice, glutinous rice and other rice as raw materials, fermented with Aspergillus oryzae, is brownish-red or purplish-red rice grains. And red yeast rice is generally used as a natural coloring, so it is a food additive.

According to the provisions of China's Food Sanitation Law (1995), food additives are to improve the quality of food color, aroma, taste, and other qualities, as well as for the preservation and processing technology needs to be added to the food of synthetic or natural substances. At present, there are 23 categories of food additives in China, more than 2,000 varieties, including acidity regulators, anticaking agents, antifoam agents, antioxidants, bleaching agents, bulking agents, coloring agents, color protectors, enzymes, flavor enhancers, nutrient enhancers, preservatives, sweeteners, thickening agents, spices and so on.