Food additives permitted in the EU: emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners and gelling agents
Below is a review of some of emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners and gelling agents, such as lecithins, alginates or plant gums, 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. The list in its entirety is available, in HTML or PDF format and in the different European languages, by following the link in the References.
| Emulsifiers | |
| E322 | Lecithins |
| Alginates | |
| E400 | Alginic acid |
| E401 | Sodium alginate |
| E402 | Potassium alginate |
| E403 | Ammonium alginate |
| E404 | Calcium alginate |
| E405 | Propane-1,2-diol alginate |
| Plant gums (soluble fibre) | |
| E406 | Agar |
| E407 | Carrageenan |
| E407a | Processed eucheuma seaweed |
| E410 | Locust bean gum |
| E412 | Guar gum |
| E413 | Tragacanth |
| E414 | Gum arabic or acacia gum |
| E415 | Xanthan gum |
| E416 | Karaya gum |
| E417 | Tara gum |
| E418 | Gellan gum |
| E425 | Konjac |
| Polysorbates | |
| E432 | Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate: Polysorbate 20 |
| E433 | Polyoxyethylene sorbitan mono-oleate: Polysorbate 80 |
| E434 | Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate: Polysorbate 40 |
| E435 | Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate: Polysorbate 60 |
| E436 | Polyoxyethylene sorbitan tristearate: Polysorbate 65 |
| Cellulose derivatives | |
| E460 | Cellulose |
| E461 | Methyl cellulose |
| E463 | Hydroxypropyl cellulose |
| E464 | Hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose |
| E465 | Ethyl methyl cellulose |
| E466 | Carboxy methyl cellulose, sodium carboxy methyl cellulose, cellulose gum |
| E468 | Cross-linked sodium carboxy methyl cellulose, cross linked cellulose gum |
| E469 | Enzymatically hydrolysed carboxy methyl cellulose, enzymatically hydrolysed cellulose gum |
| Fatty acid derivatives and modified fats | |
| E470a | Sodium, potassium and calcium salts of fatty acids |
| E470b | Magnesium salts of fatty acids |
| E471 | Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids |
| E472a | Acetic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids |
| E472b | Lactic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids |
| E472c | Citric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids |
| E472d | Tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids |
| E472e | Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids |
| E472f | Mixed acetic and tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids |
| E473 | Sucrose esters of fatty acids |
| E474 | Sucroglycerides |
| E475 | Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids |
| E476 | Polyglycerol polyricinoleate |
| E477 | Propane-1,2-diol esters of fatty acids |
| E479b | Thermally oxidised soya bean oil interacted with mono and diglycerides of fatty acids |
| E481 | Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate |
| E482 | Calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate |
| E483 | Stearyl tartrate |
| E491 | Sorbitan monostearate |
| E492 | Sorbitan tristearate |
| E493 | Sorbitan monolaurate |
| E494 | Sorbitan monooleate |
| E495 | Sorbitan monopalmitate |
| Other compounds | |
| E440 | Pectins |
| E442 | Ammonium phosphatides |
| E444 | Sucrose acetate isobutyrate |
| E445 | Glycerol esters of wood rosins |
| E1103 | Invertase |
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