E-numbers in food — what they are, and a lookup for the UK list

Recent UK label changes worth knowing

The E-number list moves slowly compared to the headlines, but there are a few changes from the last couple of years that still catch people out at the shelf.

E171 (titanium dioxide) — banned in EU food since 7 August 2022 (Commission Regulation 2022/63). The UK retained the ban in domestic food law; you should not see E171 on any UK food label sold from 2023 onwards. It's still permitted in toothpaste and some medicines.

The Southampton Six colours (E102, E104, E110, E122, E124, E129) — UK products containing any of these must carry the warning "May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children." The wording is mandatory, not editorial. Most major UK brands reformulated to avoid them after 2009; you'll still find them in some imported sweets, drinks and a handful of bakery items.

Aspartame (E951) — IARC reclassified it as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" (Group 2B) in July 2023. JECFA kept the existing 40 mg/kg/day ADI on the same day. The UK FSA reviewed and made no change to permitted use. Notable for context, not for a label change.

Natasha's Law (October 2021) — all food businesses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland must now label every ingredient and allergen on food prepacked for direct sale (PPDS). This brought loose items made on-site (e.g. sandwiches, deli wraps, grab-and-go salads) under the same full ingredient labelling rules as packaged food. If you check E-numbers on anything made and sold on the same premises, Natasha's Law means the full list must now be on the label.

E319 (TBHQ) and other additives not approved in GB — after EU withdrawal, GB maintains its own permitted additives list via UK-retained regulation. Most EU additives remain permitted; a handful never gained EU approval and remain banned in GB. E319 (tertiary-butylhydroquinone) is one to watch on imported products from the US, where it's common in fast food oils.

Where UK additive rules come from

When the UK left the EU in 2020, it retained EU food law at the point of exit — including the approved additives list and the E-number system — into domestic legislation under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is now the lead body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Food Standards Scotland (FSS) covers Scotland. Both advise ministers on whether to approve, restrict or ban additives.

Before withdrawal, all additive assessments were carried out by EFSA — the European Food Safety Authority. EFSA's published risk assessments remain the primary scientific reference for additives that were evaluated before 2021, and the FSA draws on them directly when reviewing UK decisions. EFSA continues to publish new and updated opinions on additives; the FSA reviews these and decides whether any UK action is needed.

In practice, most post-Brexit additive decisions in the UK have matched EU decisions: the E171 titanium dioxide ban, for example, was an EU Commission Regulation (2022/63) that the UK carried into domestic food law. The UK and EU are not automatically synchronised, however — future divergences are possible, and the FSA publishes its own consultations when it departs from EU positions.

To check whether a specific additive is currently permitted in UK food, the FSA maintains a searchable list of approved additives at food.gov.uk — approved additives and E-numbers. That's the authoritative source; we cross-reference it in our additive data.

How research flags an additive: IARC, ADI and ongoing review

Two frameworks shape how additives get flagged in published research. Understanding both makes food label reading considerably less confusing.

IARC classifications. The International Agency for Research on Cancer evaluates whether a substance causes cancer. It uses four groups:

• Group 1 — causes cancer in humans. The evidence is established. Processed meat containing E249, E250, E251 and E252 (nitrites and nitrates) is Group 1. This doesn't mean one bacon sandwich causes cancer — it means regular consumption of processed meat raises bowel cancer risk, and the nitrites used in curing are part of that mechanism. IARC Group 1 is the same classification as tobacco smoke and asbestos: the strength of evidence is equivalent, even if the dose relationship differs.
• Group 2A — probably carcinogenic. Strong but not definitive evidence in humans, typically backed by animal data. Red meat (unprocessed) is 2A.
• Group 2B — possibly carcinogenic. More limited human evidence. Aspartame (E951) was reclassified from Group 3 to Group 2B by IARC in July 2023, the same month JECFA maintained its 40mg/kg/day ADI. The 2B classification means the hazard is plausible — it doesn't mean the risk at typical dietary intake is established.
• Group 3 — not classifiable. Evidence is inadequate in one direction or the other.

IARC classifies hazard, not risk. A Group 2B classification means there's a plausible mechanism — it doesn't tell you at what quantity or frequency a risk materialises. That's where the second framework comes in.

ADI — Acceptable Daily Intake. An ADI is an estimate of how much of a substance a person can consume daily over a lifetime without appreciable health risk, expressed in milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. ADIs are set by JECFA (the joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives) and by EFSA in Europe, with a large safety margin built in — typically a factor of 100 below the lowest dose at which animal studies showed any effect.

ADIs are revised when new data changes the picture. The ADI for a substance can be lowered, raised, or withdrawn entirely as research evolves. "Has an ADI" does not mean "cleared permanently" — it means "a current estimate exists".

Why "approved" doesn't mean "no concerns". Regulatory approval reflects the evidence available at the time of the last review. For many additives, that last review was conducted decades ago. EFSA has been systematically re-evaluating all additives approved before 2009 — a programme that has flagged new concerns for additives that had been on food labels for years. The FSA's own guidance acknowledges that the science evolves.

Primary sources for additive research: IARC Monographs, EFSA Journal, PubMed, and food.gov.uk. We link to primary sources in the additive detail view in the app — not summaries.

Common questions about E-numbers in UK food

What does an E-number on a UK label actually tell me? A code for an additive that's been assessed for use across the UK and EU. The number identifies which additive it is; the prefix tells you the function — colours at E100, preservatives at E200, antioxidants at E300, thickeners and emulsifiers at E400, acidity regulators at E500, flavour enhancers at E600, sweeteners and others at E900. The number itself doesn't tell you natural or synthetic: E160a is beta-carotene from carrots; E110 is a coal-tar dye.

Are any E-numbers banned in the UK? E171 (titanium dioxide) has been banned in UK and EU food since 7 August 2022 (Commission Regulation 2022/63, retained in UK domestic law) — you should not see it on any UK food label sold after that date. It remains permitted in non-food uses including toothpaste and some medicines. The Southampton Six colours aren't banned but trigger a mandatory warning label.

Which E-numbers should I look out for on a UK label? Three groups worth recognising. The Southampton Six — E102, E104, E110, E122, E124, E129 — UK products containing any of these must by law carry the hyperactivity warning. Nitrites and nitrates in cured meats — E249, E250, E251, E252 — when eaten in processed meat are classed Group 1 carcinogenic by IARC; the NHS caps processed meat at 70g a day. And E171, banned in UK food since 2022 but worth recognising if you see it on an imported pack.

How do I see every E-number on a product I'm buying? Read the ingredients list — E-numbers sit in brackets after the additive's chemical name, e.g. "Tartrazine (E102)" or "Acidity regulator (E330)". Manufacturers can list the chemical name, the E-code or both. Or scan the product's barcode in NutraSafe and we show every E-number on the pack with what each one is and what it does, in plain English.

What does the FSA say about E-numbers? The Food Standards Agency reviews approved additives and updates the UK list. The FSA mandates the Southampton Six hyperactivity warning on UK packs (in force since 2010), retained the EU E171 ban in UK food law from 2022, and after the IARC 2023 reclassification of aspartame made no change to its permitted use. FSA general guidance for parents is to limit unnecessary additives in children's diets where reasonable.

What does the E in an E-number stand for? The 'E' stands for 'Europe' — the European Union's harmonised food additive list. Since EU withdrawal, the UK continues using the E-prefix system for approved additives, with the FSA managing UK-specific decisions. The numbering scheme itself (E100s for colours, E200s for preservatives, and so on) is retained in UK domestic food law unchanged.

Can I look up an E-number directly on this page? Yes — scroll down to the A-Z grid below or use Ctrl+F to search by code or additive name. We keep this hub as the single reference rather than spreading E-numbers across separate subpages, so everything you need is on one page. For the full detail view — what an additive does in the body, IARC classification, relevant studies — scan the product barcode in the app.