E number
Codes for food additives
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Through European Union, Food coloring and Sulfuric acid
Having a single unified list for food additives was first agreed upon in 1962 with food colouring. In 1964, the directives for preservatives were added; In 1970 antioxidants were added; In 1974 emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners and gelling agents were added as well.
Numbering schemes
The numbering scheme follows that of the International Numbering System (INS) as determined by the Codex Alimentarius committee, though only a subset of the INS additives are approved for use in the European Union as food additives. Outside the European continent plus Russia, E numbers are also encountered on food labelling in other jurisdictions, including the Gulf Cooperation Council, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and India.
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Colloquial use
In some European countries, the "E number" is used informally as a derogatory term for artificial food additives. For example, in the UK, food companies are required to include the "E number(s)" in the ingredients that are added as part of the manufacturing process. Many components of naturally occurring healthy foods and vitamins have assigned E numbers (and the number is a synonym for the chemical component), e.g. vitamin C (E300) and lycopene (E160d), found in carrots. At the same time, "E number" is sometimes misunderstood to imply approval for safe consumption. This is not necessarily the case, e.g. Avoparcin (E715) is an antibiotic once used in animal feed, but is no longer permitted in the EU, and has never been permitted for human consumption. Sodium nitrite (E250) is toxic. Sulfuric acid (E513) is harmful to organic tissues.
Classification by numeric range
Not all examples of a class fall into the given numeric range; moreover, certain chemicals (particularly in the E400–499 range) have a variety of purposes.
Full list
The list shows all components that have an E-number assigned, even those no longer allowed in the EU.