E numbers
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "E_numbers".

E numbers are r 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 Only a subset of the INS additives are approved for use in the European Union, the 'E' prefix which stands for Europe. In casual language in the UK and Ireland, the term "E-number" is used as a pejorative term for artificial food additives, and products may promote themselves as "free of E-numbers" even though some of the ingredients (e.g. bicarbonate of soda) do have such a code.

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.

Classification by numeric range

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

Each additional has its status:

• permitted additionals are labeled with N/a;
• forbidden additionals were proven to cause diseases beyond any doubt;
• unpermitted additionals are those for which conclusive test data is not yet available either due to ongoing tests or no testing;
• dangerous additionals may be dangerous for people with chronic diseases.

E100–E199 (colours)

E200–E299 (preservatives)

E300–E399 (antioxidants, acidity regulators)

E400–E499 (thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers)