Are E300 Additives Vegan?
E300 to E399 covers antioxidants, acidity regulators and a few emulsifiers. Ascorbates, citrates and phosphates come from fermentation or mineral chemistry. The open questions in this range concern fat, fish oil, egg yolk or calcium raw materials, and each entry says how to check.
- Not vegan
- 0
- Depends on source
- 4
- Vegan
- 11
E300 to E399 in number order
- E300 Ascorbic Acid Ascorbic acid is vegan. Factories make it from glucose drawn out of corn or other plant starches, with no animal material at any step. Vegan
- E304 Ascorbyl Palmitate Ascorbyl palmitate depends on the fat it was built from. Depends on Source
- E306 Tocopherols Tocopherols are vegan in food. E306 through E309 are recovered from deodorizer distillate, a byproduct of refining sunflower, soybean, and palm oil, and the synthetic form is animal-free too. Depends on Source
- E322 Lecithin Lecithin is usually vegan. Soy and sunflower seeds supply almost all the E322 in food, while egg yolk lecithin turns up mostly in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Depends on Source
- E325 Sodium Lactate Sodium lactate is vegan. Producers neutralize fermented lactic acid with sodium hydroxide, and the fermentation runs on plant sugar such as corn dextrose or cane and beet sucrose. Vegan
- E326 Potassium Lactate Potassium lactate is vegan. Producers neutralize fermented lactic acid with potassium hydroxide, and the fermentation runs on plant sugar such as corn dextrose or cane and beet sucrose. Vegan
- E327 Calcium Lactate Calcium lactate is vegan. It is lactic acid fermented from plant sugar and neutralized with calcium hydroxide or calcium carbonate. Vegan
- E330 Citric Acid Citric acid is vegan. Since 1919 it has been grown by feeding molasses or corn syrup to the fungus Aspergillus niger, which overtook the old citrus-extraction route by the mid-1920s. Vegan
- E331 Sodium Citrates Sodium citrates are vegan. Producers neutralize fermentation-derived citric acid with a sodium base, and the fermentation runs on plant sugars fed to a mold. Vegan
- E333 Calcium Citrates Calcium citrates are vegan. Producers neutralize fermentation-derived citric acid with limestone-derived calcium, so the additive is plant and mineral throughout. Vegan
- E334 Tartaric Acid (Wine Processing) Tartaric acid is vegan. Italian and Spanish processors extract it from grape pomace, the pressed skins and pips left over from winemaking, and it goes back into wine to correct low acidity and into baking powder as crea… Processing agent entry Vegan
- E338 Phosphoric Acid Phosphoric acid is vegan. Producers make it from mined phosphate rock treated with sulfuric acid, then purify it to food grade. Vegan
- E340 Potassium Phosphates Potassium phosphates are vegan. The salts come from mineral phosphoric acid neutralized with potassium from mined potash. Vegan
- E341 Calcium Phosphates Calcium phosphates are vegan when made with mineral inputs. Depends on Source
- E385 Calcium Disodium EDTA Calcium disodium EDTA is vegan. The molecule is synthesized from petrochemical feedstocks with no biological raw material of any kind. Vegan
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Which E300 additives are not vegan?
None of the 15 additives listed here is animal derived in every commercial form we could verify.
Which E300 additives need a source check?
Ascorbyl Palmitate (E304), Tocopherols (E306), Lecithin (E322) and Calcium Phosphates (E341) can be made from plant, mineral or synthetic inputs or from animal ones under the same name. Each entry names the raw material in question and how to confirm it with the supplier or a certified vegan mark.