Rice

What it is. A gel forming fibre extracted from red seaweed.

Why it is used. Thickens dairy, plant milks, desserts and some processed meats.

What the evidence says. Food grade carrageenan is permitted. A degraded form called poligeenan is harmful, but that is not what goes into food. Some lab and animal work links carrageenan to gut inflammation, which keeps it under review, but human evidence is limited and mixed.

Permitted, including in organic food in many places, though a few specialist products avoid it as a precaution.

Assessed against EFSA, JECFA. Full entry for E407

What it is. A modified plant fibre used to thicken and stabilise.

Why it is used. Common in ice cream, low fat products, gluten free bakery and sauces.

What the evidence says. Falls in the same emulsifier and gut research bucket as polysorbate 80, with early human work hinting at effects on the microbiome. Interesting, not conclusive.

Permitted with limits.

Assessed against EFSA. Full entry for E466

What it is. A calorie free intense sweetener, often blended with other sweeteners to round out taste.

Why it is used. Used in diet drinks, dairy and confectionery.

What the evidence says. Long treated as safe by regulators. Some recent research on sweeteners and the gut microbiome is ongoing, but nothing has changed the official safety position.

Permitted with an acceptable daily intake in all three regions.

Assessed against EFSA, JECFA. Full entry for E950

What it is. An intense sweetener around 200 times sweeter than sugar, used in tiny amounts.

Why it is used. Sweetens diet drinks, sugar free gum and low calorie desserts.

What the evidence says. In 2023 IARC listed it as possibly carcinogenic, its weakest evidence tier. At the same time the expert intake committee JECFA kept the safe daily limit unchanged, noting you would need a very high daily intake to approach it, roughly a dozen or more cans of diet drink a day for an adult. So headline scary, practically low concern for normal use.

Permitted with an acceptable daily intake. People with the condition PKU must avoid it, which is why packs carry a phenylalanine note.

Assessed against IARC, JECFA, EFSA. Full entry for E951

What it is. An intense sweetener made from sugar, around 600 times sweeter, so it is used in very small amounts.

Why it is used. Sweetens diet drinks, tabletop sweeteners, dairy and baked goods.

What the evidence says. Regulators have treated it as safe for decades and the acceptable daily intake has not changed. Newer laboratory work on a breakdown product, and the general question of sweeteners and the gut microbiome, keep it under discussion, but that work is early and has not moved any official position.

Permitted with an acceptable daily intake in all three regions.

Assessed against EFSA, JECFA. Full entry for E955

What it is. The orange pigments found in carrots and other vegetables, either extracted or made synthetically.

Why it is used. Colours margarine, soft drinks, dairy, and sweets.

What the evidence says. The same compound the body turns into vitamin A, and safe at the levels used in food. High dose beta-carotene supplements have been linked to harm in smokers, but those doses are far above anything a colour in food delivers, and conflating the two is a common mistake.

Permitted. The supplement findings apply to concentrated doses, not to food colouring.

Assessed against EFSA, JECFA. Full entry for E160A