E-numbers / Thickeners & emulsifiers / E412

Guar gum

also: Guaran · Cluster bean gum · Guar flour

Ground guar beans that thicken ice cream, sauces and gluten-free bread. A large French study linked it to type 2 diabetes.

Get NutraSafe on the App Store → Where it turns up

Scan a barcode to check a food for guar gum. NutraSafe Pro · £6.99/month · iPhone and Android

An ingredient list from the ice cream and frozen desserts aisle

Water, Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Lemon Juice from concentrate (2%), Acid: Citric Acid, Stabilisers: Guar Gum, Carob Gum, Flavourings, Gelling Agent (Pectins)

E412Thickener / Emulsifier · Plant

Guar gum

High-dose guar gum slimming tablets were taken off sale after they swelled up and blocked people's throats and guts.

VeganVegetarianHalalKosher

UK supermarket foods that declare E412: 1,863 of the 43,325 we checked (4.3%)

Counted by its code or its name in the ingredient list.

Only 8.3% of these labels print “E412”. Most use the name: look for “guar gum”.

Counted by NutraSafe from UK supermarket ingredient lists, September 2026. How we counted

How common it is in UK food, by aisle

Ice cream and frozen desserts501 products66% of 762
Fresh meat, poultry and fish255 products5.3% of 4,835
Ready meals and pizza216 products4.5% of 4,833
Yoghurt, milk and dairy164 products7.2% of 2,273

What guar gum is, what it does and where you will see it

Why it’s worth knowing. High-dose guar gum slimming tablets were taken off sale after they swelled up and blocked people's throats and guts.

What is it?

Guar gum is ground from the seeds of the guar plant, a bean grown mainly in India and Pakistan. It is a long chain of sugars that swells and turns very thick when it takes up water. It is off-white, with no smell or taste.

What does it do?

A small amount turns water into a thick, stable gel. That stops ingredients separating, keeps textures smooth and slows starchy foods going hard after baking.

Where you will see it

Ice cream, yoghurt, cream cheese, salad dressings, soups, sauces, gluten-free bread and pasta, diet foods, thickeners for infant formula and processed meat. Labels call it guar gum or E412.

What the science says

Linked to type 2 diabetes in a large French study

The NutriNet-Santé study asked more than 100,000 French adults to record everything they ate, then followed their health for about 7 years. People who ate more guar gum were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Among 104,139 French adults followed for an average of 6.8 years, each extra 500mg of guar gum eaten a day was linked to an 11% higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

2024Observational study in peopleSalame et al., The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, NutriNet-Santé cohort

The slimming tablets that caused blockages

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, guar gum tablets sold as slimming aids swelled in the throat and gut and caused blockages, and they were taken off sale.

High-dose guar gum slimming tablets caused blockages of the gullet and intestine in several case reports in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and were taken off sale in several countries.

1992ObservationalFDA Public Health Advisory and case series reports (multiple authors)

Reviewed again for young babies

In 2024 European reviewers looked specifically at guar gum in foods for babies under 16 weeks, as a follow-up to their 2017 review. A thickener behaves differently in a baby's formula than in an adult's food, so it was assessed as a separate question.

The 2024 opinion looked at guar gum in foods for babies under 16 weeks, and followed up the 2017 review, to check whether current uses raise a safety issue in any age group.

2024Regulator reviewEFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF), EFSA Journal 2024:8748

Ethylene oxide found in some batches

In 2020 and 2021, testing across Europe found ethylene oxide in several additives, guar gum among them. It had been used to fumigate the seeds after harvest. Ethylene oxide damages DNA and causes cancer. Affected batches were recalled.

Ethylene oxide, which damages DNA and causes cancer, was found in several guar gum batches sold across EU countries in 2020 and 2021, leading to recalls and alerts.

2021Regulator reviewRASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed), European Commission

The UK Food Standards Agency proposed a maximum of 0.1mg per kg for ethylene oxide in food additives including guar gum.

2023Regulator reviewUK Food Standards Agency consultation on food additive contaminant limits

Guar dust and allergy

Guar is a bean. A few case reports describe allergy, including asthma, in factory workers who breathed in guar gum dust. Cross-reactions with other beans, such as peanuts, soya and lentils, are possible in theory. It is not one of the allergens UK law makes labels declare.

Asthma and a runny nose have been reported in food workers who breathed in guar gum dust.

1990ObservationalMalo et al., Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Guar gum is not one of the 14 major allergens under UK labelling law, so it does not need a bold allergen declaration.

2014LawUK Food Information Regulations 2014 / assimilated Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011

Where it stands with the regulators

Approved in the UK and the EU

Daily limit. None set.

Legal basis: On the Food Standards Agency's approved list for Great Britain. Also allowed in infant and follow-on formula under the infant formula rules.
Permitted foods: Processed cheese · Ice cream and frozen desserts · Yoghurt · Salad dressings and sauces · Soups and ready meals · Gluten-free bread, pasta and baking · Processed meat and fish · Infant formula (as a thickener against reflux, under set conditions) · Diet and meal-replacement foods
Maximum levels: No set maximum in most foods, as long as makers use no more than they need. Set limits apply in infant formula and diet foods.
History: European reviewers looked at it again in 2017. A further opinion in 2024 looked at foods for babies under 16 weeks. Separately, ethylene oxide contamination in some batches from 2020 to 2023 led to recalls and proposed limits, but did not change its approval.

Who should be careful

People with known allergies to beans or pulses, particularly guar or locust bean, should check for guar gum or E412 and talk to a health professional about cross-reactions.

The honest read

Its use in formula for very young babies has had its own review. The 2024 French study adds a link with type 2 diabetes, and is the newest open question.

Common questions about guar gum

Is E412 banned in the UK?

No. Guar gum is approved in the UK in a wide range of foods and is on the Food Standards Agency's list.

What was the ethylene oxide problem with guar gum?

In 2020 and 2021, testing across Europe found ethylene oxide, which damages DNA and causes cancer, in some batches of imported guar gum. It came from fumigating the seeds after harvest. The affected batches were recalled, and the UK FSA proposed a limit of 0.1mg per kg for ethylene oxide in food additives. Guar gum's approval was not withdrawn.

What foods contain E412?

Ice cream, yoghurt, cream cheese, salad dressings, soups, gluten-free bread and pasta, processed meat, infant formula and diet products. Labels call it guar gum or E412.