E-numbers / Thickeners & emulsifiers / E419
also: Indian gum · Ghatti gum · INS 419
A natural tree-sap gum from India used as a thickener and emulsifier, rarely seen in UK food products.
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A published genotoxicity study assessed the food additive gum ghatti (used to inform international evaluations).
Why it’s worth knowing. A published genotoxicity study assessed the food additive gum ghatti (used to inform international evaluations).
Gum ghatti is a dried exudate that seeps from the bark of Anogeissus latifolia, a hardwood tree native to India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. It is a complex polysaccharide built mainly from arabinose, galactose, mannose, xylose and glucuronic acid units, making it structurally similar to gum arabic. The raw gum is collected by making incisions in the bark, then dried and milled into a powder or granules.
When dissolved in water, gum ghatti forms a viscous solution that slows the separation of oil and water droplets, making it an effective emulsifier and stabiliser. It also adds body to liquids and prevents crystallisation. Its emulsifying performance is considered stronger than gum arabic in some oil-in-water applications. In the small number of food uses it has, it typically appears at low concentrations to maintain a uniform texture throughout the product.
Gum ghatti has very limited use in UK and European food. Its main industrial applications are in oil-well drilling fluids, paper sizing and textiles. In food contexts it occasionally appears in beverages, salad dressings and flavour emulsions, primarily in the United States where it holds GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status for specific uses. On a UK label it would appear as 'gum ghatti' or 'E419'.
Feeding studies in rats and dogs conducted in the 1960s and 1970s found no adverse effects at the doses tested. Gum ghatti is not genotoxic in standard assays and has not been assigned an IARC carcinogen classification. No reproductive or developmental toxicity has been identified in the available literature. The dataset is limited compared to more widely used gums such as guar (E412) or locust bean gum (E410).
Subchronic and chronic feeding studies in rats found no treatment-related adverse effects at the doses tested; a no-observed-adverse-effect level was established but the studies are old and conducted to pre-modern standards.
Gum ghatti was not found to be genotoxic in the standard battery of in vitro tests assessed as part of the GRAS determination.
Unlike most E4xx thickeners and gums, gum ghatti does not appear in the main permitted food additives list used in the UK (assimilated EU Regulation 1333/2008, Annex II). This means it cannot lawfully be added to food sold in Great Britain under the current retained framework. Its E-number designation exists but it is not an actively approved additive in the UK or EU food supply. The US FDA accepted a GRAS notice for specific uses in beverages and other foods.
E419 does not appear in the UK Food Standards Agency approved additives list derived from assimilated EU Regulation 1333/2008, indicating it is not a currently permitted food additive in the UK.
The US FDA accepted a GRAS notice for gum ghatti at use levels up to 0.2% in non-alcoholic beverages and beverage bases, salad dressings, processed cheese and other food categories.
No specific population group is known to be at elevated risk. Because it is not permitted in UK food, encountering it on a UK product label would be unexpected and worth querying with the manufacturer. Anyone with known sensitivities to other tree exudate gums (such as gum arabic) should be aware that cross-reactivity is theoretically possible, though not documented.
Gum ghatti sits in an unusual position: it has an E-number, it comes from a natural tree source, the limited toxicology data raised no alarms, and it has been accepted for food use in the US. But it is not on the UK or EU permitted additives list, so a UK shopper is very unlikely to see it in any product sold here. The science is thin simply because it is so rarely used in food, not because of known harms. The honest picture is that gum ghatti is an obscure industrial gum that never made it through the EU authorisation process for food.
E419 is not on the UK's approved food additives list, which means it cannot lawfully be added to food sold in Great Britain. It was never formally banned, but it was not included in the permitted list under the EU regulation that UK law retained after Brexit. A product labelled with E419 sold in the UK would be non-compliant.
It is permitted for specific food uses in the United States, where the FDA accepted a GRAS notice in 2003. Uses include beverages, salad dressings and processed cheese at levels up to 0.2%. It is not permitted in UK or EU food and is rarely encountered in consumer products globally.
In the UK you should not find E419 in any food product, as it is not a permitted additive here. In the US it may appear in some flavoured beverages, emulsified dressings or processed dairy products. Its primary commercial uses are industrial, not food-related.
Yes. Gum ghatti is a plant-derived exudate collected from the bark of the Anogeissus latifolia tree. It contains no animal-derived ingredients and is suitable for vegan and vegetarian diets.
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