Emulsifiers — Complete E-Number Guide

Emulsifiers are food additives (mainly numbered E400–E499) that keep oil and water mixed and improve texture. Found in bread, margarine, chocolate, ice cream and salad dressings. Every additive below links to its full safety, vegan and halal breakdown.

A handful of additives below carry E-numbers outside the E400–E499 band — they're grouped here because they do the same job in food, not because of their number; the EU/UK E-number system groups by main series but reassigns some additives by function.

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E-Number	Name	Safety	Vegan	Halal
E322	Lecithins	Safe	Uncertain	Halal
E431	Polyoxyethylene Stearate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E432	Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monolaurate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E433	Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Mono-Oleate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E434	Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monopalmitate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
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E435	Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monostearate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E436	Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Tristearate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E442	Ammonium Phosphatides	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E444	Sucrose Acetate Isobutyrate	Safe	Yes	Halal
E445	Glycerol Esters of Wood Rosins	Safe	Yes	Halal
E459	Beta-Cyclodextrin	Safe	Yes	Halal
E471	Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E473	Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E474	Sucroglycerides	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
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E475	Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E476	Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate	Safe	Yes	Halal
E477	Propylene Glycol Esters of Fatty Acids	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E481	Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E482	Calcium Stearoyl Lactylate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E483	Stearyl Tartrate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E491	Sorbitan Monostearate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E492	Sorbitan Tristearate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E493	Sorbitan Monolaurate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E494	Sorbitan Monooleate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E495	Sorbitan Monopalmitate	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E1001	Choline Salts	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E470a	Sodium, Potassium and Calcium Salts of Fatty Acids	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E470b	Magnesium Salts of Fatty Acids	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E472a	Acetic Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E472b	Lactic Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E472c	Citric Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E472d	Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E472e	Mono- and Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E472f	Mixed Acetic and Tartaric Acid Esters	Safe	Uncertain	Mashbooh
E479b	Thermally Oxidised Soya Bean Oil	Safe	Yes	Halal

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Products for emulsifiers

Alternatives and resources related to emulsifiers

Best match

Clean-Label Bread
Bread baked without emulsifiers — better for sensitive digestive systems.

Clean-Label Bread on Amazon →

Vegan Ingredient Guide
Spot hidden animal-derived emulsifiers on any food label.

Vegan Ingredient Guide →

Food Intolerance Test
Find out which additives are affecting you with a home test kit.

Intolerance test kits →

Data: Open Food Facts (ODbL) · EFSA