E-numbers / Sweeteners / E420
also: Sorbitol syrup · D-glucitol · E420(i) · E420(ii)
A sweetener used in sugar-free sweets and gum. More than about 50g a day loosens the bowels, and people with IBS can react to much less.
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Sweeteners (Sorbitol, Aspartame, Sucralose, Acesulfame K), Flavourings, Anti-Caking Agent (Magnesium Salts of Fatty Acids), Colour (Brilliant Blue FCF)
Above roughly 50g a day, sorbitol pulls water into the large bowel, causing bloating, cramps and diarrhoea.
UK supermarket foods that declare E420: 371 of the 43,325 we checked (0.9%)
Counted by its code or its name in the ingredient list.
Counted by NutraSafe from UK supermarket ingredient lists, September 2026. How we counted
Why it’s worth knowing. Above roughly 50g a day, sorbitol pulls water into the large bowel, causing bloating, cramps and diarrhoea. People with irritable bowel syndrome can react to much smaller amounts.
Sorbitol is a sweetener found naturally in apples, pears, plums and cherries. For food it is made from glucose, from corn or wheat starch. It belongs to the group chemists call polyols, which are not alcoholic. E420 covers sorbitol (E420i) and sorbitol syrup (E420ii).
It is about 60% as sweet as sugar with fewer calories, about 2.4kcal per gram against 4kcal. It also keeps food moist and soft for longer, stops sweets crystallising, and adds bulk where sugar has been taken out.
Sugar-free chewing gum and mints, sugar-free chocolate and sweets, reduced-sugar baked goods, jam and marmalade, ice cream, the coating on dried fruit, and many medicines, cough syrups, mouthwashes and toothpastes. Labels call it sorbitol, sorbitol syrup or E420.
The small intestine does not absorb all of it. The rest reaches the large bowel, where it draws in water and gut bacteria ferment it, making gas. Above roughly 50g a day it reliably causes bloating, cramps, loose stools and diarrhoea. UK law requires a warning on any food where added polyols make up more than 10%.
25g of sorbitol a day, in two doses, caused no laxative effect in 86 people, while more than 50g a day caused diarrhoea.
UK and EU law require any food with more than 10% added polyols, sorbitol included, to say "Excessive consumption may have laxative effects".
People with irritable bowel syndrome are often sensitive to a group of poorly absorbed carbohydrates known as FODMAPs, and sorbitol is one of them. Dietitians routinely cut it out for people on a low-FODMAP diet, and people with IBS can react at far less than the 50g that affects most people.
In randomised trials, cutting FODMAPs, including polyols such as sorbitol, clearly reduced IBS symptom scores compared with a control diet.
Sorbitol is listed as a high-FODMAP food to restrict in low-FODMAP diet guidance for IBS.
Daily limit. None set.
People with irritable bowel syndrome on a low-FODMAP diet should treat sorbitol as a high-FODMAP ingredient and cut down or avoid it. People who cannot absorb fructose well are often sensitive to sorbitol too. People with diabetes should know it still has calories. Look for sorbitol, sorbitol syrup or E420.
The laxative effect of sorbitol is real, depends on the dose, and is well recorded. The 50g-a-day threshold is a fair guide for most people, but people with IBS or a sensitive gut can react to far less. The compulsory warning on high-polyol foods exists because the effect is predictable enough to put in law. The practical issue is the gut.
No. Sorbitol is approved in the UK and EU.
UK and EU law require any food with more than 10% added polyols, sorbitol included, to say "Excessive consumption may have laxative effects". Sorbitol is only partly absorbed and can cause bloating, cramps and diarrhoea at high intakes.
Sugar-free chewing gum and mints, sugar-free chocolate and sweets, reduced-sugar baked goods, dried fruit, jams and marmalade, frozen desserts, and some cough syrups and medicines. Labels call it sorbitol, sorbitol syrup or E420.
Yes. It is made from glucose from plant starch, usually corn or wheat, with nothing from animals.
Last reviewed: 9 November 2026
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