E NUMBER

'E numbers' are codes for food additives and are usually found on food labels throughout the European Union. The numbering scheme follows that of the International Numbering System (INS) as determined by the Codex Alimentarius committee. Only a subset of the INS additives are approved for use in the European Union, giving rise to the 'E' prefix.
E numbers are also encountered on food labeling in other jurisdictions, including the GCC, Australia, New Zealand and Israel. They are increasingly (though still rarely) found on North American packaging, especially in Canada

Contents

Classification by numeric range

Full list

E100–E199 (colours)

E200–E299 (preservatives)

E300–E399 (antioxidants, acidity regulators)

E400–E499 (thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers)

E500–E599 (acidity regulators, anti-caking agents)

E600–E699 (flavour enhancers)

E900–E999 (miscellaneous)

E1000–E1999 (additional chemicals)

External links

Classification by numeric range

100–199 Colours	100–109	yellows
	110–119	oranges
	120–129	reds
	130–139	blues & violets
	140–149	greens
	150–159	browns & blacks
	160–199	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	polyoxythene 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
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

NB: 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.

Full list

E100–E199 (colours)

★ E100 Curcumin, turmeric (food colouring)

★ E101 Riboflavin (Vitamin B₂), formerly called lactoflavin (Vitamin G) (food colouring)

★ E101a Riboflavin-5'-Phosphate (food colouring)

★ E102 Tartrazine (FD&C Yellow 5) (food colouring)

★ E103 Chrysoine resorcinol (food colouring)

★ E104 Quinoline yellow (food colouring)

★ E105 Fast Yellow AB (food colouring)

★ E106 Riboflavin-5-Sodium Phosphate (food colouring)

★ E107 Yellow 2G (food colouring)

★ E110 Sunset Yellow FCF, Orange Yellow S, FD&C Yellow 6 (food colouring)

★ E111 Orange GGN (food colouring)

★ E120 Cochineal, Carminic acid, Carmines, Natural Red 4 (food colouring)

★ E121 Orcein, Orchil (food colouring)

★ E122 Carmoisine, Azorubine (food colouring)

★ E123 Amaranth (FD&C Red 2) (food colouring)

★ E124 Ponceau 4R, Cochineal Red A, Brilliant Scarlet 4R (food colouring)

★ E125 Ponceau SX, Scarlet GN (food colouring)

★ E126 Ponceau 6R (food colouring)

★ E127 Erythrosine (FD&C Red 3) (food colouring)

★ E128 Red 2G (food colouring)

★ E129 Allura Red AC (FD&C Red 40) (food colouring)

★ E130 Indanthrene blue RS (food colouring)

★ E131 Patent Blue V (food colouring)

★ E132 Indigo carmine, Indigotine, FD&C Blue 2 (food colouring)

★ E133 Brilliant Blue FCF (FD&C Blue 1) (food colouring)

★ E140 Chlorophylls and Chlorophyllins: (i) Chlorophylls (ii) Chlorophyllins (food colouring)

★ E141 Copper complexes of chlorophylls and chlorophyllins (i) Copper complexes of chlorophylls (ii) Copper complexes of chlorophyllins (food colouring)

★ E142 Greens S (food colouring)

★ E143 Fast Green FCF (FD&C Green 3) (food colouring)

★ E150a Plain Caramel (food colouring)

★ E150b Caustic sulfite caramel (food colouring)

★ E150c Ammonia caramel (food colouring)

★ E150d Sulphite ammonia caramel (food colouring)

★ E151 Black PN, Brilliant Black BN (food colouring)

★ E152 Black 7984 (food colouring)

★ E153 Carbon black, Vegetable carbon (food colouring)

★ E154 Brown FK, Kipper Brown (food colouring)

★ E155 Brown HT, Chocolate brown HT (food colouring)

★ E160a Alpha-carotene, Beta-carotene, Gamma-carotene (food colouring)

★ E160b Annatto, bixin, norbixin (food colouring)

★ E160c Capsanthin, capsorubin, Paprika extract (food colouring)

★ E160d Lycopene (food colouring)

★ E160e Beta-apo-8'-carotenal (C 30) (food colouring)

★ E160f Ethyl ester of beta-apo-8'-carotenic acid (C 30) (food colouring)

★ E161a Flavoxanthin (food colouring)

★ E161b Lutein (food colouring)

★ E161c Cryptoxanthin (food colouring)

★ E161d Rubixanthin (food colouring)

★ E161e Violaxanthin (food colouring)

★ E161f Rhodoxanthin (food colouring)

★ E161g Canthaxanthin (food colouring)

★ E161h Zeaxanthin (food colouring)

★ E161i Citranaxanthin (food colouring)

★ E161j Astaxanthin (food colouring)

★ E162 Beetroot Red, Betanin (food colouring)

★ E163 Anthocyanins (food colouring)

★ E170