E-numbers / Acidity regulators / E380
also: Ammonium citrate
The ammonium salt of citric acid, used to control acidity and stabilise texture in processed foods.
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Triammonium citrate is the triammonium salt of citric acid, a naturally occurring organic acid found in citrus fruits.
Triammonium citrate is the triammonium salt of citric acid, a naturally occurring organic acid found in citrus fruits. It is produced by neutralising citric acid with ammonia. The result is a water-soluble white crystalline powder or granule.
Acts as an acidity regulator and buffering agent: it resists changes in pH when acid or alkali is added to a food system, keeping the product stable. It also has mild chelating properties, binding trace metal ions that would otherwise catalyse oxidation or colour change, and can improve meltability and texture in processed cheese products.
Found mainly in processed cheese and cheese products, where it improves meltability and prevents fat separation. Also used in certain non-alcoholic beverages, confectionery, and convenience foods where pH stabilisation is needed. On a UK label it appears as 'triammonium citrate' or 'E380'.
Citric acid and its ammonium, calcium, potassium and sodium salts have been reviewed together by JECFA (the joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives). The committee assigned them a group ADI of 'not specified', meaning no numerical daily limit was considered necessary at the levels used in food. The ammonium released from triammonium citrate at food-use concentrations is well within the body's normal ammonia-handling capacity via the urea cycle.
JECFA assigned a group ADI of 'not specified' to citric acid and its salts (including the ammonium salt) based on the absence of toxicological concern at levels used in food.
Triammonium citrate does release ammonium ions in solution. At the small quantities used as a food additive, the ammonia load is negligible relative to the amount already produced by normal protein digestion in the gut. No specific toxicity signal has been identified at food-use levels. High ammonia intake from other sources (for example certain metabolic disorders) is a distinct and unrelated concern.
Ammonia is a normal metabolic product of protein digestion; the body processes it via the urea cycle. Food-additive use levels of ammonium salts do not meaningfully add to this endogenous load.
People with rare urea cycle disorders, who cannot process ammonia normally, may need to limit ammonium-containing additives on medical advice. Look for 'triammonium citrate' or 'E380' on the label. No specific advisory applies to the general population.
Triammonium citrate is one of the more ordinary members of the acidity regulator family. It belongs to the same citrate group as the E330 range (citric acid and its common salts), which have been in food use for decades and reviewed multiple times by international expert bodies without a safety concern emerging. The additive-specific toxicology is not extensive, but the citrate scaffold and the ammonium quantities involved at food-use levels give regulators little to act on. There is no active scientific debate about this additive.
No. Triammonium citrate is on the UK FSA approved-additives list and is permitted under the assimilated EU Regulation 1333/2008 framework retained after Brexit.
The ammonium comes from neutralising citric acid with ammonia during manufacture. It functions as a pH buffer, keeping the product stable. The amount reaching you in a portion of food is tiny relative to the ammonia your body produces naturally from digesting protein.
Processed cheese slices and spreadable cheese products are the most common source. It also appears in some flavoured soft drinks, confectionery, and convenience ready meals where acidity control is needed.
Yes. Triammonium citrate is produced synthetically from citric acid and ammonia and contains no animal-derived ingredients.
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