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.
| E322, E400, E401, E402, E403, E404, E405, E406, E407, E407a, E410, E412, E413, E414, E415, E416, E417, E418, E425, E432, E433, E434, E435, E436, E440, E442, E444, E445, E460, E461, E463, E464, E465, E466, E468, E469, E470a, E470b, E471, E472a, E472b, E472c, E472d, E472e, E472f, E473, E474, E475, E476, E477, E479b, E481, E482, E483, E491, E492, E493, E494, E495, E1103 |
| 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 (acacia gum) |
| E415 Xanthan gum |
| E416 Karaya gum |
| E417 Tara gum |
| E418 Gellangum |
| 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