Antioxidants approved for use in food by the European Commission

Food additives permitted in the EU: antioxidants

Below is a review of some antioxidants, such as vitamin C and vitamin E, present in the list of food additives approved in the European Community on the basis of the European Commission regulation No 1129/2011 published on 11 November 2011. This list is an amendment of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 of the European Parliament, and was itself modified in 2013. The list in its entirety, in PDF or HTML format and in the different European languages, is available by following the link in the References.

E300, E301, E302, E304, E306, E307, E308, E309, E310, E311, E312, E315, E3116, E319, E320, E321
Antioxidants: vitamin C
E300 Ascorbic acid
E301 Sodium ascorbate
E302 Calcium ascorbate
E304 Esters of ascorbic acid with fatty acids, a lipid-soluble derivative of the vitamin
Antioxidants: vitamin E
E306 Tocopherol-rich extract
E307 Alpha-tocopherol
E308 Gamma-tocopherol
E309 Delta-tocopherol
Other antioxidants
E310 Propyl gallate
E311 Octyl gallate
E312 Dodecyl gallate
E315 Erythorbic acid, the D-isomer of vitamin C, with low vitamin activity
E316 Sodium erythorbate
E319 Tertiary-butyl hydroquinone or TBHQ
E320 Butylated hydroxyanisole or BHA
E321 Butylated hydroxy toluene or BHT

References

  1. Bender D.A. “Benders’ Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology” 8th ed. Woodhead Publishing. Oxford, 2006
  2. Commission Regulation (EU) No 1129/2011 of 11 November 2011 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing a Union list of food additives. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1129/2013-11-21

Biochemistry, metabolism, and nutrition