Food Standards and Quality Control

Food Standard and Quality Control

Lesson 22 : Food Additives

Coding of food additives

European Food Safety Authority has given number codes called as E numbers for food additives that have been assessed for use within the European Union. ‘E’ stands for Europe. They are commonly found on food labels throughout the European Union.

Codex Alimentarius committee has International Numbering System( INS) for all food additives.. The INS numbers generally correspond to E numbers for the same compound – e.g. INS 110, Sunset Yellow, is also E-110. INS numbers are not unique and, in fact, one number may be assigned to a group of like compounds

Classification Of Food Additives Based on Enumbers:

100–199 Colours	100–109	yellows (see the E number#Full list)
	110–119	oranges
	120–129	reds
	130–139	blues & violets
	140–149	greens
	150–159	browns & blacks
	160–199	gold and others
200–299 Preservatives	200–209	sorbates
	210–219	benzoates
	220–229	sulphites
	230–239	phenols & formates (methanoates)
	240–259	nitrates
	260–269	acetates (ethanoates)
	270–279	lactates
	280–289	propionates(propanoates)
	290–299	others
300–399 Antioxidants & acidity regulators	300–305	ascorbates (vitamin C)
	306–309	Tocopherol (vitamin E)
	310–319	gallates & erythorbates
	320–329	lactates
	330–339	citrates & tartrates
	340–349	phosphates
	350–359	malates & adipates
	360–369	succinates & fumarates
	370–399	others
400–499 Thickeners, stabilisers & emulsifiers	400–409	alginates
	410–419	natural gums
	420–429	other natural agents
	430–439	polyoxyethene compounds
	440–449	natural emulsifiers
	450–459	phosphates
	460–469	cellulose compounds>
	470–489	fatty acids & compounds
	490–499	others
500–599 pH regulators & anti-caking agents	500–509	mineral acids & bases
	510–519	chlorides & sulphates
	520–529	sulphates & hydroxides
	530–549	alkali metal compounds
	550–559	silicates
	570–579	stearates & gluconates
	580–599	others
600–699 Flavour enhancers	620–629	glutamates
	630–639	inosinates
	640–649	others
700–799 Antibiotics	710–713
900–999 Miscellaneous	900–909	waxes
	910–919	synthetic glazes
	920–929	improving agents
	930–949	packaging gases
	950–969	sweeteners
	990–999	foaming agents
1100–1599 Additional chemicals	New chemicals that do not fall into standard classification schemes

Not all examples of a class fall into the given numeric range. Moreover, many chemicals, particularly in the E400–499 range, have a variety of purposes.