Food additives permitted in the EU: compounds used as anticaking agents

Below is a review of some compounds used as anticaking agents, such as silicon salts and bentonite, 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. Such list is an amendment of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 of the European Parliament, that was then modified in 2013. It is possible to consult the list in its entirety, in HTML and PDF format, and in the different European languages by following the link in the References.

E422, E431, E459, E551, E552, E553a, E553b, E554, E555, E556, E558, E559, E570, E574, E575, E576, E577, E578, E579, E585

E422     Glycerol

E431     Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate

E459     Beta-cyclodextrin

Anticaking agents: silicon salts

E551     Silicon dioxide

E552     Calcium silicate

E553a   Magnesium silicate

E553b   Talc

E554     Sodium aluminium silicate

E555     Potassium aluminium silicate

E556     Aluminium calcium silicate

Anticaking agents: other compounds

E558     Bentonite

E559     Aluminium silicate; kaolin

E570     Fatty acids

E574     Gluconic acid

E575     Glucono delta-lactone

E576     Sodium gluconate

E577     Potassium gluconate

E578     Calcium gluconate

E579     Ferrous gluconate

E585     Ferrous lactate

References

Bender D.A. “Benders’ Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology” 8th ed. Woodhead Publishing. Oxford, 2006

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