E-numbers / Other additives / E339
also: Monosodium phosphate · Disodium phosphate · Trisodium phosphate · Sodium orthophosphate
Phosphate salts that keep sliced ham wet and processed cheese smooth. The body absorbs almost all of them, which matters for kidneys, and a large study links them to heart disease.
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Wholemeal Wheat Flour, Wheat Flour (with Calcium, Iron, Niacin and Thiamin), Wheat Bran, Caster Sugar, Raising Agents: Sodium Bicarbonates, Sodium Phosphates, Salt
High intake of phosphate additives is linked to faster decline in kidney function, raised blood phosphate and more heart disease, particularly in people with kidney disease.
333
of the 43,325 UK supermarket foods we checked declare E339 in their ingredients
That is 0.8%, counted by its code or its name.
Counted by NutraSafe from UK supermarket ingredient lists, September 2026. How we counted
Why it’s worth knowing. High intake of phosphate additives is linked to faster decline in kidney function, raised blood phosphate and more heart disease, particularly in people with kidney disease. European reviewers set a daily limit in 2019 and said it does not protect people with moderate to severe kidney disease.
E339 covers three forms of sodium phosphate: monosodium phosphate, disodium phosphate and trisodium phosphate. They are sodium salts of phosphoric acid. The phosphorus naturally in whole foods is bound to protein and only partly absorbed. These added salts are absorbed almost completely.
Which job they do depends on the form and the food. In processed meat they lock water into the meat, so the product weighs more and stays tender. In processed cheese they stop the fat separating when it melts. In baking they react with bicarbonate to make the gas that helps cakes rise. They also trap traces of metal that make fats go rancid.
Sliced ham and cooked meats, reformed chicken, hot dogs, fish fingers, processed cheese slices, spreadable cheese, instant noodles, some baked goods and ready meals. Labels call it sodium phosphates, disodium phosphate, trisodium phosphate or E339.
The body absorbs phosphate additives far more easily than the phosphorus in whole foods. Studies of large groups have linked high phosphate intake to faster worsening of chronic kidney disease and to raised blood phosphate. In 2019 European reviewers consulted kidney specialists, who confirmed the daily limit does not protect people with moderate to severe kidney disease, because their kidneys cannot clear the extra.
Reviewers set a shared daily limit for phosphates (E338 to E341, E450 to E452) of 40mg of phosphorus per kg of body weight, and said plainly it does not apply to people with moderate to severe kidney disease.
Kidney specialists consulted by the reviewers confirmed that high phosphate additive intake matters clinically for people with chronic kidney disease, because additive phosphate is absorbed almost completely, unlike phosphorus bound to protein in food.
The NutriNet-Santé study asked 95,442 French adults with no history of heart disease to record everything they ate, then followed their health for about 7 years. People with a high intake of trisodium phosphate (E339) had more coronary heart disease. This shows a link, not proof that E339 causes it, and the researchers called for the finding to be repeated.
Among 95,442 French adults followed for a median of 7.4 years, high intake of trisodium phosphate (E339) was linked to a higher risk of coronary heart disease.
Large studies have linked higher blood phosphate to more heart disease, including in people without kidney disease. These are links, not proof, and in population data it is hard to separate phosphate additives from phosphorus in whole foods.
In a large US community study of people free of heart and kidney disease, higher blood phosphate was linked to more heart disease over the following years.
The phosphorus in meat, fish, nuts and pulses is attached to protein, and the body absorbs roughly 40 to 60% of it. The phosphate salts used as additives are absorbed at about 80 to 100%. So each gram of additive phosphate raises blood phosphate more, which matters most for people whose kidneys struggle to clear it.
Phosphate additives are absorbed at roughly 80 to 100%, against roughly 40 to 60% for phosphorus from protein-rich whole foods, so they raise blood phosphate more for the amount eaten.
Phosphate additives are in so many processed foods that someone eating a heavily processed diet can take in a lot. European reviewers found the heaviest eaters in some age groups get close to, or reach, the daily limit from additives alone, before the phosphorus naturally in their food is counted.
The heaviest eaters of phosphate additives (top 5%), particularly teenagers, could approach or pass the shared daily limit from additives alone, before phosphorus from ordinary food is added.
Daily limit. 40mg of phosphorus per kg of body weight a day, shared by all phosphate additives (European reviewers, 2019). Does not apply to people with moderate to severe kidney disease.
People with chronic kidney disease should talk to their kidney dietitian about phosphate additives: the kidneys cannot clear the extra phosphorus, blood phosphate rises and the disease can progress faster. Look for sodium phosphate, disodium phosphate, trisodium phosphate or E339, especially on processed meat, cooked ham, spreadable cheese and ready meals.
Phosphorus is a nutrient the body needs. The concern is specific to additive phosphates, which are absorbed almost in full, unlike the phosphorus in whole foods. European reviewers set a formal limit in 2019 because the evidence had grown enough to need one, and the heaviest eaters, especially teenagers on processed diets, can get close to it from additives alone. The heart findings are links from population studies and do not prove that additive phosphate causes heart disease. What is not disputed is the kidney picture: for anyone whose kidneys already struggle, the additive load is a clinical concern, not a theoretical one.
No. E339 is approved in the UK in processed meat, cheese, baked goods and other foods.
Yes. The 2019 European review said plainly that the daily limit for phosphate additives does not protect people with moderate to severe kidney disease. Kidney dietitians routinely advise cutting foods with phosphate additives, because they are absorbed almost completely and the kidneys cannot clear the excess.
Mostly sliced cooked meats and ham, hot dogs, reformed chicken, processed cheese slices, spreadable cheese, fish fingers, instant noodles, some baked goods and ready meals. Look for sodium phosphates, disodium phosphate, trisodium phosphate or E339.
Yes. Sodium phosphates are mineral salts, with nothing from animals.
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
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