Multivitamins & minerals food supplement tablets
Unknown brand
Processing
4
Ultra-processed
Group 4 of 4 on the NOVA scale
Additives listed
12
1 we grade moderate or higher
10 of them not yet assessed here
Nutrients
–
Nothing above the low band
Or no figures recorded at all
Three separate readings, kept apart on purpose. This is not a score, and none of it says this product is harmful.
Additives (12)
This label lists 4 anticaking agents, 3 colours, 2 thickeners and gelling agents, 1 antioxidant and 1 additive. 1 more we cannot place from the code alone.
E171
Titanium dioxide
Whitener and opacifier
What it is. A bright white pigment used to make sweets, icing, sauces and coatings look opaque and white.
Why it is used. Purely cosmetic. It changes appearance, not taste or safety of the food.
What the evidence says. In 2021 the EU food safety body EFSA concluded it could no longer be considered safe as a food additive, mainly because possible genetic damage from the tiny particles could not be ruled out. That is a precautionary call rather than proof of harm in people.
Banned as a food additive in the EU since 2022. Still permitted in the UK and the US, which reached different conclusions on the same evidence. A clear case of the same additive, different rules.
Assessed against EFSA, UK FSA, US FDA. Full entry for E171
E160A
Carotenes
Yellow to orange colour
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
Also on the label, not assessed here yet
- E101 Riboflavin colour
- E307 Alpha-tocopherol antioxidant
- E422 Glycerol other
- E460 Cellulose thickener
- E464 Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose thickener
- E551 Silicon dioxide anticaking agent
- E553 Magnesium silicates anticaking agent
- E553B Talc anticaking agent
- E572 Magnesium stearate anticaking agent
- E921 No entry in our register
Names and jobs come from the register of additives permitted in Great Britain, which we have not finished transcribing: a code shown without a name is a gap in our coverage, not a finding that it is unapproved. Naming one is not grading it either. Full detail appears only where we have an assessment against a named authority, so all of this describes our coverage rather than these additives. Most are common and low concern.
Ingredients
microcrystalline cellulose, dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, magnesium oxide, ascorbic acid, maltodextrin, calcium pantothenate, ferrous fumarate, modified maize starch, dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose, nicotinamide, l-cysteine hydrochloride monohydrate, zinc oxide, thiamin hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, magnesium stearate, anti-caking agent (silicon dioxide), colour (titanium dioxide), manganese sulphate monohydrate, talc, maize starch, beta-carotene, copper sulphate pentahydrate, riboflavin, humectant (glycerol), glucose syrup, folic acid, sodium ascorbate, dl-alpha-tocopherol, sodium selenite, chromium chloride hexahydrate, silicon dioxide, sucrose, cyanocobalamin, biotin, cholecalciferol,
As printed on the pack, in the producer's own order: ingredients are listed by weight, so what comes first is most of what is in it. E numbers link to their assessment where we have one.