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     Fatty acid esters of ascorbic acid (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, litlle vitamin activity)

E316     Sodium erythorbate

E319     Tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ)

E320     Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)

E321     Butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT)

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