Small print on the label
If for some reason you don’t want to eat animal ingredients, labels can be quite a puzzle. It is not clear on all products what components or E numbers are made of. How do you recognize ingredients of animal origin?
E numbers are European Union approved excipients, hence the ‘E’. Producers add them to food and drinks to, for example, ensure that they shine, do not clump, acquire a certain colour, taste sweeter or have a longer shelf life. These additives are often produced in a factory, but they can also be made from natural sources, such as plants and animals.
‘Suspicious’ E numbers
Some people prefer to avoid E numbers. Manufacturers know this and therefore sometimes do not state the E number of certain substances on the label, but their full name. The excipients listed below may be of animal origin. E120 and E904 are always made of animals, you cannot find out about the other E numbers.
| Number | Name / description |
|---|---|
| E120 | cochineal, carminic acid, carmine |
| E161G | canthaxanthin |
| E304i | ascorbyl palmitate |
| E422 | glycerol |
| E431 to E436 | fatty acid esters of polyoxyethylene |
| E442 | ammonium phosphatides |
| E470 | a&b salts of fatty acids |
| E471 | mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids |
| E472a-f | esters of E471 |
| E473 | sugar esters |
| E474 | sucroglycerides |
| E475 | polyglycerol esters of fatty acids |
| E477 | propylene glycol esters of fatty acids |
| E479b | thermally oxidized soybean oil obtained by reaction with E471 |
| E481 | sodium stearyol-2-lactylate |
| E482 | calcium stearyl-2-lactylate |
| E483 | stearyl tartrate |
| E491 to E495 | fatty acid esters of sorbitan |
| E570 | fatty acids |
| E626 to E629 | guanylic acid and guanylates |
| E630 to E633 | inosinic acid and inosinates |
| E635 | sodium ribonucleotides |
| EE640 | glycine and its sodium salt |
| E904 | shellac |
| E920 | l-cysteine |
| E1518 | glyceryl triacetate |
Gelatin
Gelatin is a protein product that is obtained from offal such as skins and bones of pigs and cows. It is used as a binding and thickening agent in all kinds of sweets, pastries, desserts, but also in capsules of food supplements or medicines. It used to be put on packaging as E number 441, but nowadays it just says ‘gelatin’ on labels.
Some juices, wine and beer are made clear using gelatin. Because the gelatin is not an ingredient, it does not have to be on the label. Only by checking with the manufacturer can you try to find out whether gelatin was used in the production of your drink.
Quality mark
If you avoid animal ingredients, you can also look out for the Vegetarian Quality Mark. The Vegetarian Association gives this quality mark to products that are certain that they do not contain ingredients from killed animals. So there are guaranteed no animal E numbers or gelatin in it. You can recognize it by the logo: a V with a leaf and the text ‘Vegetarisch – Vegetarian – Vegetarian’.
