Are E400 Additives Vegan?
E400 to E499 covers thickeners, gelling agents, stabilizers and emulsifiers. Gums, seaweed extracts, pectin and celluloses come from plants. Glycerin, most polysorbates and most emulsifiers from E470a onward are built on fats or fatty acids that can come from vegetable oil or animal fat, and the label leaves the source unstated. Polysorbate 20 (E432), E479b and sorbitan monolaurate (E493) are documented as plant based.
- Not vegan
- 0
- Depends on source
- 25
- Vegan
- 16
E400 to E499 in number order
- E401 Sodium Alginate Sodium alginate is vegan. The gum is extracted from brown seaweed with an alkaline wash and converted to its sodium salt. Vegan
- E406 Agar Agar is vegan. Producers boil it out of red algae, mostly Gelidium and Gracilaria species harvested off Japan, Chile, and Morocco. Vegan
- E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is vegan. It comes out of red seaweed, mainly Eucheuma and Kappaphycus, farmed in the Philippines and Indonesia. Vegan
- E412 Guar Gum Guar gum is vegan. Mills grind it from the endosperm of the guar bean, a drought-hardy legume that India supplies about 80% of. Vegan
- E414 Gum Arabic Gum arabic is vegan. Harvesters cut the bark of Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal trees across Sudan and the Sahel, then collect the sap that hardens on the wound. Vegan
- E415 Xanthan Gum Xanthan gum is vegan. The bacterium Xanthomonas campestris ferments corn sugar into it, and the cells are filtered out at the end. Vegan
- E420 Sorbitol Sorbitol is vegan. Producers make it by adding hydrogen to glucose from corn or wheat starch over a metal catalyst. Vegan
- E422 Glycerin Glycerin depends on the source fat. Tallow and lard yield the same molecule as soy, coconut, palm, or petroleum, and the label reads E422 for every one of them. Depends on Source
- E432 Polysorbate 20 Polysorbate 20 is vegan. Commercial lauric acid comes from the lauric oils, coconut and palm kernel oil, and the sorbitol comes from plant starch glucose. Vegan
- E433 Polysorbate 80 Polysorbate 80 depends on the fatty acid used to build it. Depends on Source
- E434 Polysorbate 40 Polysorbate 40 depends on its palmitic acid. Palm oil is one documented source and tallow oil is another, and the specification asks only for edible commercial palmitic acid. Depends on Source
- E435 Polysorbate 60 Polysorbate 60 depends on the stearic acid used to build it. Depends on Source
- E436 Polysorbate 65 Polysorbate 65 depends on its stearic acid. Tallow or hydrogenated vegetable oil can supply it, and the specification asks only for edible commercial stearic acid. Depends on Source
- E440 Pectin Pectin is vegan. Producers pull it from apple pomace left behind by juicing and from citrus peel discarded by the orange juice industry. Vegan
- E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are vegan. The salts are made from mined phosphate rock, converted to phosphoric acid and neutralized with mineral bases. Vegan
- E451 Triphosphates Triphosphates are vegan. The salts come from mined phosphate rock neutralized with sodium or potassium and then heated into a chain. Vegan
- E461 Methyl Cellulose Methyl cellulose is vegan. Producers make it from wood pulp or cotton fiber treated with caustic soda and methyl chloride. Vegan
- E464 Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose is vegan. Producers make it from wood pulp or cotton fiber modified with caustic soda, methyl chloride, and propylene oxide. Vegan
- E466 Carboxymethyl Cellulose Carboxymethyl cellulose is vegan. Producers make it from wood pulp or cotton fiber treated with caustic soda and monochloroacetic acid. Vegan
- E470a Sodium Potassium and Calcium Salts of Fatty Acids E470a depends on the fat that supplied its fatty acids. Depends on Source
- E470b Magnesium Stearate Magnesium stearate depends on the fatty acid source used to make it. Depends on Source
- E471 Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids E471 depends on the supplier. Mono- and diglycerides are made from either vegetable oil or animal fat, lard and tallow included, and EU rules do not require the source to be declared. Depends on Source
- E472a Acetic Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides E472a depends on the fat behind its glycerides. Depends on Source
- E472b Lactic Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides Lactic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides depend on the fat used to make them. Depends on Source
- E472c Citric Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides E472c depends on the fat behind its glycerides. Depends on Source
- E472d Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides E472d depends on the fat behind its glycerides. Depends on Source
- E472e DATEM DATEM depends on the supplier. E472e is built from mono- and diglycerides reacted with tartaric and acetic acid, and those glycerides start out as either vegetable oil or animal fat. Depends on Source
- E472f Acetic and Tartaric Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides E472f depends on the fat behind its glycerides. Depends on Source
- E473 Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids E473 depends on the fatty acid supplier. One manufacturer reported palm, palm kernel and coconut oil to EFSA, and US rules also list edible tallow as a source. Depends on Source
- E474 Sucroglycerides E474 depends on the fat or oil used to make it. Depends on Source
- E475 Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids depend on the fat they were built from. Depends on Source
- E476 Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate PGPR depends on one half of the molecule. Depends on Source
- E477 Propane-1,2-diol Esters of Fatty Acids E477 depends on the fat that supplied its fatty acids. Depends on Source
- E479b Thermally Oxidized Soybean Oil with Mono- and Diglycerides E479b is vegan in the process EFSA documents. Vegan
- E481 Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate Sodium stearoyl lactylate depends on its stearic acid. Depends on Source
- E482 Calcium Stearoyl-2-Lactylate Calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate depends on its stearic acid. Tallow or vegetable oil can supply that stearic acid, and E482 does not say which. Depends on Source
- E491 Sorbitan Monostearate Sorbitan monostearate depends on where its stearic acid came from. Depends on Source
- E492 Sorbitan Tristearate Sorbitan tristearate depends on its stearic acid. The EU specification asks only for edible commercial stearic acid, which can be hydrolyzed tallow or hydrogenated vegetable oil. Depends on Source
- E493 Sorbitan Monolaurate Sorbitan monolaurate is vegan. Coconut oil is a major commercial source of lauric acid, alongside palm kernel oil, and the sorbitol comes from plant starch. Vegan
- E494 Sorbitan Monooleate Sorbitan monooleate depends on its oleic acid. Oleic acid is made from vegetable oils and also from animal tallow, and the EU specification asks only for edible commercial oleic acid. Depends on Source
- E495 Sorbitan Monopalmitate Sorbitan monopalmitate depends on its palmitic acid. Palm oil is one documented source and tallow oil is another, and the EU specification asks only for edible commercial palmitic acid. Depends on Source
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Which E400 thickeners and emulsifiers are not vegan?
None of the 41 additives listed here is animal derived in every commercial form we could verify.
Which E400 thickeners and emulsifiers need a source check?
Glycerin (E422), Polysorbate 80 (E433), Polysorbate 40 (E434), Polysorbate 60 (E435), Polysorbate 65 (E436), Sodium Potassium and Calcium Salts of Fatty Acids (E470a), Magnesium Stearate (E470b), Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids (E471), Acetic Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides (E472a), Lactic Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides (E472b), Citric Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides (E472c), Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides (E472d), DATEM (E472e), Acetic and Tartaric Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides (E472f), Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids (E473), Sucroglycerides (E474), Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids (E475), Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate (E476), Propane-1,2-diol Esters of Fatty Acids (E477), Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate (E481), Calcium Stearoyl-2-Lactylate (E482), Sorbitan Monostearate (E491), Sorbitan Tristearate (E492), Sorbitan Monooleate (E494) and Sorbitan Monopalmitate (E495) 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.