Are E500 Additives Vegan?
E500 to E599 covers acidity regulators, anti-caking agents and mineral salts. Most are minerals. Bone phosphate (E542) is made from animal bones, and fatty acids (E570) depend on the fat source.
- Not vegan
- 1
- Depends on source
- 1
- Vegan
- 8
E500 to E599 in number order
- E500 Sodium Carbonates Sodium carbonates are vegan. The salts come from mined trona ore or from the Solvay process, which reacts salt brine with limestone and ammonia. Vegan
- E501 Potassium Carbonates Potassium carbonates are vegan. The salts come from mined potash, converted to potassium hydroxide and then carbonated. Vegan
- E503 Ammonium Carbonates Ammonium carbonates are vegan. Producers make them from ammonia and carbon dioxide, with the ammonia synthesized from atmospheric nitrogen. Vegan
- E509 Calcium Chloride Calcium chloride is vegan. Made from limestone and hydrochloric acid, it firms canned vegetables, curdles soy milk into nigari-style tofu, and restores the calcium that pasteurization strips out of milk headed for chees… Processing agent entry Vegan
- E511 Magnesium Chloride Magnesium chloride is vegan. The salt is recovered from seawater and brine, or mined as bischofite. Vegan
- E524 Sodium Hydroxide (Lye) Sodium hydroxide is vegan. Electrolysis of brine produces it, and food makers dip pretzels and bagels in a dilute lye bath for that brown chewy crust, cure Californian black olives with it, and use it to Dutch-process c… Processing agent entry Vegan
- E542 Bone Phosphate Bone phosphate is not vegan. E542 is defined by its origin: bones from slaughtered cattle and pigs, degreased and milled into an anti-caking powder. Not Vegan
- E551 Silicon Dioxide Silicon dioxide is vegan. Food-grade silica is made from quartz sand by flame or precipitation, both purely mineral routes. Vegan
- E570 Fatty Acids Fatty acids (E570) depend on the fat they come from. Depends on Source
- E585 Ferrous Lactate Ferrous lactate is vegan. It is iron combined with lactic acid, made from lactic acid and iron or from a lactate salt and a ferrous salt. Vegan
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Which E500 additives are not vegan?
Bone Phosphate (E542) has an animal origin in every commercial form we could verify.
Which E500 additives need a source check?
Fatty Acids (E570) 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.