What is it?
Calcium lactate is a salt made from lactic acid and calcium. Lactic acid comes from fermentation, and the body makes it too when muscles work hard. It is also in yoghurt, cheese and sourdough. Calcium lactate is a white powder.
E-numbers / Other additives / E327
Calcium lactate
also: Calcium salt of lactic acid · Calcium 2-hydroxypropanoate
A calcium salt of lactic acid. It keeps cut fruit firm, steadies acidity and adds calcium.
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Sugar, Maltodextrin, Corn Starch, Acidity Regulators (E450, E327, E263, E339), Flavourings, Colour: Carotenes
E327
Calcium lactate
Calcium lactate is a salt made from lactic acid and calcium.
234
of the 43,325 UK supermarket foods we checked declare E327 in their ingredients
That is 0.5%, counted by its code or its name.
Only 8.6% of these labels print “E327”. Most use the name: look for “calcium lactate”.
Counted by NutraSafe from UK supermarket ingredient lists, September 2026. How we counted
How common it is in UK food, by aisle
- Cakes, biscuits and desserts54 products1.5% of 3,715
- Fresh meat, poultry and fish44 products0.9% of 4,835
- Crisps and savoury snacks36 products1.1% of 3,428
- Bread and bakery25 products0.7% of 3,682
What calcium lactate is, what it does and where you will see it
What does it do?
It does several jobs. It steadies how acidic a food is, which keeps flavour and texture stable. It binds to the walls of plant cells, so cut or processed fruit and vegetables stay firm. In baking it works with bicarbonate of soda to release gas slowly. It is also used to add calcium to food.
Where you will see it
Fresh-cut and bagged fruit and salad, to keep them crisp, tinned vegetables, bread rolls and muffins, infant formula, some calcium-added drinks and some chewing gum. UK labels call it calcium lactate or E327.
What the science says
The body takes up its calcium much as it does from dairy
Calcium lactate releases calcium in the gut, and it has been studied as a calcium source in fortified food and supplements. The body absorbs it at roughly the same rate as calcium from dairy. No harm from it as an additive has been found at the levels used in food.
European reviewers looked at calcium lactate and raised no safety issue at the levels used in food.
2013Regulator reviewEFSA ANS Panel re-evaluation opinion on lactic acid and its calcium, potassium, and sodium salts (E270, E325, E326, E327)
Calcium from calcium lactate is absorbed through the same routes in the gut as calcium from dairy, and has been used in clinical studies as a standard calcium supplement.
1990Trial in peopleHeaney et al., Journal of the American College of Nutrition
Lactate is something the body makes all the time
The body makes and uses lactic acid all the time as cells work. Calcium lactate from food splits into calcium and lactate, both normal parts of the blood. Regulators have never set a numerical daily limit, because the body cannot tell it apart from what it already has.
The international committee set no numerical daily limit for calcium lactate.
1974Regulator reviewJECFA monograph on calcium lactate
Where it stands with the regulators
Approved in the UK and the EU
Daily limit. None set (international committee and European reviewers).
- Legal basis
- On the Food Standards Agency's approved list for Great Britain
- Permitted foods
- Fresh and processed fruit and vegetables · Baked goods · Infant formula and follow-on formula · Calcium-added drinks · Chewing gum · Foods for special medical needs
- Maximum levels
- No set maximum in most foods, as long as makers use no more than they need.
- History
- Calcium lactate has been on the EU's permitted list since the first additive rules and carried into current law. European reviewers looked at it again in 2013, as part of reviewing every approved additive, and raised no safety issue. It stayed approved in UK law after Brexit.
Who should be careful
People with lactose intolerance do not need to avoid it, because it contains no lactose. People with a genuine allergy to lactic acid or its salts, which is extremely rare, should look for calcium lactate or E327 on the label.
The honest read
Calcium lactate is one of the most ordinary additives in food. Lactic acid and its salts have been made by fermentation for thousands of years and are in many foods naturally. Regulators in the UK, EU and beyond have reviewed it several times and never set a numerical daily limit.
Common questions about calcium lactate
Is E327 banned in the UK?
No. Calcium lactate is approved in the UK and is on the Food Standards Agency's list of permitted additives.
Is calcium lactate the same as lactose?
No. Lactose is a sugar in milk. Calcium lactate is a salt of lactic acid and contains no lactose, so people with lactose intolerance can eat it without the gut effects associated with lactose.
What foods contain E327?
Fresh-cut and bagged fruit and salad, tinned vegetables, bread and rolls, infant formula, calcium-added juices and plant milks, and chewing gum.
Is E327 vegan?
Yes. It is made by fermenting a plant sugar, such as from sugar beet or corn, with bacteria, then adding calcium. No animal ingredients are needed, and vegan certifiers widely list it as vegan.
Sources
- FSA approved additives and E numbers - E327 Calcium lactate
- Food Standards Agency: Approved additives and E numbers
- EFSA ANS Panel re-evaluation of lactic acid and lactates (E 270, E 325, E 326, E 327) as food additives
- JECFA monograph: Calcium lactate
- Calcium lactate - Wikipedia
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
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