E-numbers / Other additives / E1205
also: BMC · Basic butylated methacrylate copolymer
A synthetic acrylic resin used only as a coating on solid food supplement tablets and capsules, not in everyday food.
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Use as a glazing agent in solid food supplements was of no safety concern, but limited reproductive and developmental data meant no ADI could be derived.
Why it’s worth knowing. Use as a glazing agent in solid food supplements was of no safety concern, but limited reproductive and developmental data meant no ADI could be derived.
A synthetic polymer made from dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate and neutral methacrylic acid esters. It forms a waxy, colourless to pale-yellow solid. It belongs to the same family of acrylic resins used in pharmaceutical tablet coatings (known commercially as Eudragit-type polymers).
Applied as a thin film coat over compressed tablets, granules or pellets in food supplements. The coating provides moisture protection, masks bitter tastes, and can create a sustained-release effect by controlling how quickly the outer film dissolves in the digestive tract. At low pH (stomach acid) the basic amino groups in the polymer become protonated and the coat dissolves, releasing the supplement contents.
Found only on solid food supplement products such as vitamin tablets, mineral tablets and multinutrient capsules. It is not used in ordinary foods, soft drinks, confectionery or any other food category. On a label it may appear as 'E1205', 'basic methacrylate copolymer', or under a product trade name in the supplement coating blend.
EFSA reviewed the safety of E1205 when it was first authorised and again in 2016 when the particle-size specifications were amended. Because E1205 is used only as a coating on supplement tablets, the amount that reaches a consumer is very small, limited to the thin film surrounding each tablet. The polymer is not significantly absorbed through the gut wall and has a long history of use in pharmaceutical tablet coatings under the same chemistry.
EFSA concluded that the amendment to particle-size specifications for E1205 did not raise a safety concern at the permitted use level in solid food supplements.
E1205 was authorised for use in solid food supplements in the EU under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 Annex II. The same authorisation was carried into UK law as assimilated EU law after Brexit.
The same acrylic resin chemistry has been used in licensed pharmaceutical tablet coatings for decades. In the acid environment of the stomach, the basic (amino-containing) groups protonate and the film dissolves, releasing the tablet contents. The polymer itself is not meaningfully absorbed through the gut lining and does not accumulate in the body under normal conditions.
Methacrylate copolymers used as pharmaceutical excipients are poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and are excreted largely unchanged, based on pharmaceutical toxicology studies submitted as part of pharmaceutical marketing authorisation dossiers.
People with known hypersensitivity to acrylic polymers should check supplement labels for E1205 or basic methacrylate copolymer, though such reactions are uncommon. The coating is present only on solid-form supplements, not in food or drink.
E1205 is a narrow-use coating material with no role in everyday food. Its chemistry comes directly from the pharmaceutical industry, where the same acrylic resins have been used as tablet coatings for decades. Exposure from a supplement tablet is extremely small, limited to the film on the outside of each tablet. There is no published evidence linking normal supplement intake of E1205 to any adverse health outcome. EFSA reviewed it specifically in the food additive context and raised no concerns about the permitted use level.
No. E1205 is approved in the UK under assimilated EU Regulation 1333/2008 for use specifically in solid food supplements such as vitamin and mineral tablets.
E1205 is only permitted in solid food supplements, meaning vitamin tablets, mineral capsules and similar products. It is not authorised for use in any ordinary food or drink category.
It forms a thin film coat over the tablet that protects it from moisture, masks any bitter taste, and controls how quickly the contents dissolve once you swallow it. The coating dissolves in the acid of the stomach, releasing the supplement.
Yes. Basic methacrylate copolymer is a fully synthetic acrylic polymer with no animal-derived ingredients. It does not contain gelatine, shellac, or any other animal product.
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
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