Phytase
An enzyme that breaks down phytic acid in plant foods, freeing up minerals like iron, zinc and calcium so the body can absorb them.
What is it?
Phytase is a naturally occurring enzyme that cleaves phosphate groups from phytic acid (phytate), the main form in which phosphorus is stored in grains, legumes and seeds. Commercial phytase preparations are produced by fermentation using fungal or bacterial microorganisms, most commonly Aspergillus niger strains. The enzyme is classified under E numbers as E1112 in some additive databases, but in EU and UK law it is primarily regulated as a food enzyme under Regulation (EC) 1332/2008 rather than as a food additive under Regulation (EC) 1333/2008. As a food enzyme it functions as a processing aid and is not required to appear as an E number on the finished-food ingredient label. In Great Britain, post-Brexit, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) now runs a separate GB food enzymes approval process; EFSA evaluations are not automatically recognised for GB authorisations, though the FSA draws on EFSA technical guidance for dossier assessment.
What does it do?
Phytic acid acts as an antinutrient: it binds tightly to mineral ions including iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium and manganese in the gut, forming insoluble complexes that cannot be absorbed. Phytase catalyses the stepwise hydrolysis of phytate, releasing the bound minerals and inorganic phosphate. In bread and cereal production the enzyme is added to dough or flour during mixing or fermentation; it acts during the warm, moist dough-rest stage and is largely inactivated by baking heat. The result is a finished product with a lower phytate content and better mineral bioavailability. Phytase also influences dough rheology, softening gluten networks slightly and improving fermentation rate.
Where you will see it
Primarily used in wholegrain bread, wholemeal flour products, high-fibre cereals, and plant-based protein processing (soy protein isolates, oat drinks). Also used in beer and other fermented grain beverages to reduce phytate haze and free phosphate. Because it functions as a processing aid and is regulated as a food enzyme rather than a food additive in the UK and EU, it may not appear on ingredient labels as E1112. Where listed, it will read as 'phytase' or 'enzyme'.
What the science says
Mineral bioavailability: the main reason it is used
Phytic acid in wholegrain foods locks up iron, zinc, calcium and other minerals so they pass through the gut unabsorbed. Multiple human dietary studies have shown that enzymatic reduction of phytate in cereal-based diets measurably improves absorption of iron and zinc, which matters most in populations where wholegrain staples are the primary calorie source and mineral deficiency is common.
Phytase treatment of cereal porridge significantly increased iron absorption in women in a randomised controlled trial, with phytate degradation of around 90% more than doubling fractional iron absorption compared with untreated porridge.
Reduction of phytate in bread by added phytase increased zinc absorption by approximately 60% in healthy adults in a crossover study.
EFSA food enzyme safety evaluations
EFSA's Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP) Panel has evaluated multiple phytase preparations submitted for authorisation under EU Regulation 1332/2008. The evaluations assessed genotoxicity, sub-chronic toxicity and allergenicity of each specific preparation. In the assessments published, the Panel found no genotoxicity signals and identified no adverse effects at the highest doses tested in 90-day rodent studies, giving margins of exposure well above regulatory thresholds.
EFSA's CEP Panel concluded that 3-phytase produced with non-genetically modified Aspergillus niger strain PHY93-08 does not give rise to safety concerns under intended conditions of use in food manufacturing, based on genotoxicity testing and a 90-day rat study with no observed adverse effect level at the highest dose tested (2,560mg total organic solids per kg body weight per day).
Occupational allergy: a workplace, not a dietary, concern
Enzyme powders used in baking and food manufacturing can become airborne and cause occupational respiratory allergy in workers who inhale them over time. This is a well-documented hazard for bakery workers exposed to enzyme dusts, including phytase. By the time the enzyme reaches the consumer in baked bread it has been heat-inactivated, and dietary ingestion of residual enzyme protein carries a low allergenicity risk according to EFSA evaluations. The occupational risk is a factory-worker exposure issue, not a consumer one.
Occupational respiratory allergies to phytase have been documented in bakery enzyme manufacturing and baking industry settings; EFSA noted this literature when evaluating phytase preparations but concluded dietary exposure risk from finished food is low.
Where it stands with the regulators
Who should be careful
No population group needs to avoid phytase on safety grounds based on current evidence. People with known allergies to Aspergillus niger or related mould species could in theory react to fungal-derived phytase preparations, though dietary exposure risk from finished baked goods is considered low because the enzyme is heat-inactivated during baking. Where phytase is declared on an ingredient label, it will read as 'phytase' or 'enzyme'.
The honest read
Phytase is one of a large class of food processing enzymes used to improve the nutritional quality of plant-based foods by reducing phytic acid. Its use is long-established in baking and grain processing. EFSA evaluates each specific preparation before it can be marketed in the EU, and the evaluations published to date have not flagged toxicological or allergenicity concerns at consumer exposure levels. In Great Britain, post-Brexit, the FSA now runs a separate approval process; a GB domestic list has not yet been established but interim rules allow continued use under assimilated EU law. The regulatory picture is slightly unusual because phytase sits under food enzyme law rather than food additive law, so it does not appear on the standard approved-additives E-number list. The science on occupational allergenicity in bakery workers is well-established; the science on consumer dietary risk from residual heat-inactivated enzyme protein in finished products is consistent with low concern based on assessments to date.
Related additives
Common questions
Is E1112 banned in the UK?
No. Phytase is used in UK food production. However, it is regulated as a food enzyme under its own framework (Regulation (EC) 1332/2008) rather than as a food additive, which is why it does not appear on the UK FSA's approved food additives list. In the EU, individual phytase preparations must be evaluated by EFSA before they can be marketed. In Great Britain post-Brexit, the FSA runs a separate GB approval process and does not automatically recognise EFSA evaluations, though a full GB domestic list of food enzymes had not been established as of mid-2026 and interim rules allow continued use under assimilated EU law.
Does phytase appear on food labels?
Usually not as an E number. Because it functions as a processing aid and is classified as a food enzyme rather than a food additive, it may not require declaration as E1112 in the ingredients list. Where it is declared, it will appear as 'phytase' or 'enzyme'. In practice, most consumers eating bread or cereals will not see it listed.
What foods contain E1112?
Wholegrain bread, high-fibre breakfast cereals, plant-based drinks such as oat milk, and some beers are the most common products where phytase is used as a processing enzyme. Its main role is in wholegrain and high-phytate products where reducing phytic acid improves the mineral nutrition of the food.
Is E1112 vegan?
Commercial phytase is produced by microbial fermentation, typically using fungal strains such as Aspergillus niger, and contains no animal-derived ingredients. It is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.
Sources
- UK FSA Approved Additives and E Numbers
- UK FSA Food Enzymes Authorisation Guidance
- UK FSA Reforms to the Market Authorisations Process for Regulated Products
- EU Regulation (EC) No 1332/2008 on food enzymes
- EFSA CEP Panel: Safety evaluation of the food enzyme 3-phytase from A. niger PHY93-08
- Hurrell RF et al. Iron absorption from cereal-based diets, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Sandberg AS et al. Zinc absorption from phytase-treated bread, British Journal of Nutrition
- EFSA CEP Panel: Safety evaluation of the food enzyme 6-Phytase (PubMed)
See this on every food you scan
NutraSafe reads the label and puts every additive into plain English, with the source, right in the app.
Get NutraSafe on the App Store