Which E-numbers to avoid, and which are fine
Most E-numbers are harmless. E300 is vitamin C and E100 is turmeric extract. The ones with genuine grounds for caution are E171 (removed from EU food), the azo dyes E102, E110, E122, E124 and E129 (mandatory child-attention warning), E250 sodium nitrite, and the animal-derived additives E120, E441, E901 and E904.
Start by discarding the premise
"E-numbers are bad" is the most durable myth in food labelling, and it costs people money and variety for no benefit.
E300 is ascorbic acid, better known as vitamin C. E306 is a tocopherol, or vitamin E. E100 is curcumin, the yellow pigment in turmeric. E440 is pectin, from apples. E330 is citric acid, from lemons. Every one of these carries an E-number, and avoiding them is avoiding vitamin C.
The E-number system is an index of approved additives. It is not a list of suspicious ones. So the useful question is never "does this have E-numbers?". It is "which ones, and why would I care?"
The ones with regulatory grounds
These are not opinions. A regulator has acted.
E171: Titanium dioxide
Removed from the EU list of permitted food additives in 2022, following an EFSA opinion that genotoxicity could not be ruled out. It was a whitener in sweets, chewing gum, icing and sauces. Still permitted in the United States, which is why an imported product may contain it.
E102, E110, E122, E124, E129: the azo dyes
Tartrazine, sunset yellow FCF, carmoisine, ponceau 4R and allura red. Following the Southampton study, EU law requires products containing them to carry the warning: "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children."
That is a regulator putting a warning on a packet. Whatever you make of the underlying evidence, it is a stronger signal than any app score.
E250: Sodium nitrite
The curing agent in bacon, ham and most processed meats. Under heat it can form nitrosamines, and IARC classifies processed meat as a Group 1 carcinogen, a classification that covers processed meat generally rather than E250 specifically. Nitrite also does real work: it prevents Clostridium botulinum. This is a genuine trade-off, not a simple villain.
The ones with dietary grounds
Not safety issues, but they matter enormously to a lot of people, and the label rarely tells you:
- E120 carmine: crushed insects. Not vegan; haram under the major certifiers.
- E904 shellac: lac-bug resin. Not vegan.
- E901 beeswax: not vegan.
- E441 gelatin: cattle or pig; source almost never declared.
- E542 bone phosphate: animal bone.
- E471 mono- and diglycerides: plant or animal fat, undeclared.
- E920 L-cysteine: feathers, hair, or synthetic.
The contested middle
Where the evidence is unsettled, and honest reporting says so:
E621 monosodium glutamate. Glutamate is naturally abundant in parmesan, tomatoes and mushrooms. Double-blind trials have repeatedly failed to reproduce "Chinese restaurant syndrome" at normal dietary levels. Some individuals still report consistent reactions, which deserves to be taken seriously without generalising.
E407 carrageenan. Seaweed-derived. Animal studies have raised questions about gut inflammation; the relevance of degraded carrageenan in those studies to food-grade carrageenan is disputed. EFSA continues to permit it.
E211 sodium benzoate. Safe as approved. It can form small amounts of benzene when combined with ascorbic acid under heat and light, a formulation problem in soft drinks that manufacturers largely resolved once it was identified.
Emulsifiers generally (E433, E466 and others). An active research area on gut microbiome effects. Interesting, not settled.
The ones that are simply fine
E100 curcumin · E160a carotenes · E162 beetroot red · E163 anthocyanins · E170 calcium carbonate · E300 ascorbic acid · E306 tocopherols · E322 lecithin · E330 citric acid · E406 agar · E410 locust bean gum · E412 guar gum · E415 xanthan gum · E440 pectin · E903 carnauba wax
Rather than counting E-numbers, ask what the additives tell you about the <em>product</em>. A food needing six colours, three emulsifiers and two flavour enhancers is telling you something about how far it sits from its ingredients. That is a more useful signal than any individual code.
Frequently asked
Which E-numbers are banned?
E171 titanium dioxide was removed from the EU permitted list in 2022 over genotoxicity concerns, though it remains legal in the US. Individual additives are withdrawn from time to time as evidence develops, and EU and US lists diverge, which matters when buying imported food.
Are E-numbers worse than named ingredients?
No. Whether an additive appears as "E300" or "ascorbic acid" is a labelling choice. It is the same vitamin C. US labels tend to spell additives out, EU labels tend to use codes. The substance is identical.