Antioxidants — Complete E-Number Guide

Antioxidants are food additives (E300–E399) that stop fats and oils turning rancid and protect food colour and flavour. They are found in many everyday foods including oils, margarine, snacks, cured meats, soft drinks and processed foods. This guide covers every antioxidant E-number with its safety, vegan and halal status at a glance.

What do antioxidants do?

Additives in the antioxidants group stop fats and oils turning rancid and protect food colour and flavour. Without them, many everyday products would spoil faster, separate, lose texture or look unappetising — which is why they appear in so many ingredients lists. Every additive in this table has been through EFSA's authorisation process, but as the safety column shows, "authorised" doesn't always mean "concern-free": some carry conditions, warnings or ongoing debates, and each entry links to a full breakdown.

Checking labels for antioxidants

On UK and EU labels these additives appear with their function and E-number or name — for example "antioxidant: E300". Tap any E-number in the table for its complete profile: what it is, where it's found, whether it's safe, and its vegan, vegetarian, halal and palm-oil status.

Additive data sourced from Open Food Facts (ODbL licence) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).