E-numbers / Acidity regulators / E328
also: Ammonium salt of lactic acid · Ammonium 2-hydroxypropanoate
The ammonium salt of lactic acid used as an acidity regulator. It is not a currently authorised food additive in the UK or EU.
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E328 does not appear on the UK FSA approved-additives list or in EU Regulation 1333/2008 Annex II.
Why it’s worth knowing. E328 does not appear on the UK FSA approved-additives list or in EU Regulation 1333/2008 Annex II. If you see it declared on a UK or EU food label, that product may not comply with current food additive law. It is not on the UK list of approved food additives, so you will not normally see this E number on a UK label.
Ammonium lactate is the ammonium salt of lactic acid, formed by neutralising lactic acid with ammonia. Lactic acid itself is a naturally occurring organic acid produced by fermentation and found in sour milk products and fermented vegetables. The ammonium form is chemically distinct from the approved sodium (E325), potassium (E326) and calcium (E327) lactate salts.
As an acidity regulator it would buffer pH, moderate sourness and stabilise food systems. In non-food contexts ammonium lactate is widely used in pharmaceutical topical creams as a humectant and keratolytic agent, most notably in prescription-strength skin moisturisers for dry skin conditions. Its food-additive use is not currently authorised.
Because E328 is not authorised as a food additive in the UK or EU, it should not appear in food ingredient lists in these markets. On a label it would be declared as 'ammonium lactate' or 'E328'.
The UK FSA approved-additives list and the assimilated EU Regulation 1333/2008 (Annex II) do not include E328 ammonium lactate. The adjacent lactate salts, sodium lactate (E325), potassium lactate (E326) and calcium lactate (E327), are all approved for various food categories, but the ammonium form is absent. An additive without Annex II authorisation cannot lawfully be added to food sold in the UK or EU.
E328 ammonium lactate does not appear in any category of the UK FSA approved-additives register, despite E325, E326 and E327 being listed in the same acidity-regulator group.
EU Regulation 1333/2008 Annex II, which sets out the exhaustive list of food additives permitted in the EU, does not include an authorisation for ammonium lactate (E328). The consolidated text (June 2024) lists E327 calcium lactate followed directly by E330 citric acid, with no E328 entry and no transitional or withdrawal provision referencing E328 anywhere in the text.
Lactic acid salts in general are metabolised readily. The ammonium ion released from ammonium lactate would be converted to urea in the liver via the urea cycle, the normal metabolic route for dietary nitrogen. At the trace levels that would be present if the additive were used as a pH buffer, this is not expected to pose a loading issue for healthy adults, but no EFSA safety evaluation for food use has been published to date.
Ammonium ions from ingested ammonium salts are detoxified in the liver via the urea cycle; at typical dietary exposures from naturally occurring lactic acid salts this pathway is not saturated in healthy individuals.
Ammonium lactate is well established in topical dermatology products, sold at 12% concentration in prescription creams for xerosis and ichthyosis. This skin-application context is entirely separate from food use, but it confirms the compound is a known, characterised substance. The evidence base for its safety relates to skin exposure, not ingestion at food-additive levels.
Ammonium lactate 12% lotion (e.g. Lac-Hydrin) is a US FDA-approved prescription topical agent for dry skin; its safety profile is established for dermal routes only.
Because E328 is not an authorised food additive in the UK or EU, encountering it on a food label sold in these markets is a regulatory irregularity worth noting. People who are sensitive to ammonium compounds or follow diets that restrict non-approved additives should look for 'ammonium lactate' or 'E328' in the ingredients list.
E328 occupies an unusual position: it has a recognised E-number code in additive numbering references, yet no active authorisation for use in food in the UK or EU. It is not that it was studied and found harmful, it simply has never been granted the positive safety opinion that Annex II requires. The ingredient is chemically ordinary as a salt of a common food acid, and its pharmaceutical use as a topical skin treatment is well documented. But absence from the approved list means it is not a legal food additive in these jurisdictions, and the science on its ingestion safety at food-relevant doses has not been formally evaluated by EFSA. The honest picture is: not approved, not positively cleared for food, and the question has not been publicly put to the regulator.
It is not on the UK FSA approved-additives list, which means it is not authorised for use as a food additive in the UK. It has not been formally banned following a withdrawal, but it does not have the positive authorisation required for lawful food use. An additive not in the approved list cannot legally be added to food sold in the UK.
E-numbers are codes assigned within the European numbering system to identify substances that have been evaluated or designated for consideration. Having a code does not automatically mean a substance is authorised; it means it has been catalogued. E328 ammonium lactate has a code but no Annex II authorisation, so it cannot legally be used as a food additive in the UK or EU.
No foods sold legally in the UK or EU should contain E328, as it is not an authorised food additive in these markets. Ammonium lactate is used in some pharmaceutical topical skin creams, but not in food.
Ammonium lactate can be produced synthetically from ammonia and lactic acid derived from bacterial fermentation of plant sugars. Whether any specific product containing it is vegan would depend on the production process, but there is no inherent animal-derived component in the substance itself.
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