E-numbers / Thickeners & emulsifiers / E445
also: Ester gum · GEWR · Glyceryl ester of wood rosin
A pine resin that keeps the citrus oil in cloudy lemonade from floating to the top.
Scan a barcode to check a food for glycerol esters of wood rosins. NutraSafe Pro · £6.99/month · iOS
Carbonated Water, Sugar, Acid (Citric Acid), Flavourings (Including Caffeine), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Stabilisers (Gum Arabic, Glycerol Esters of Wood Rosins), Colour (Beta Carotene)
For years its daily limit was only temporary, because studies on fertility and unborn young were missing.
146
of the 43,325 UK supermarket foods we checked declare E445 in their ingredients
That is 0.3%, 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. For years its daily limit was only temporary, because studies on fertility and unborn young were missing. They were supplied, and a permanent limit was set in 2023 for two pine species only.
Glycerol esters of wood rosins are made by reacting glycerol with rosin, a resin taken from the wood of pine trees, mainly longleaf pine and slash pine. The result is heavier than water. Rosin, also called colophony, is used in industrial printing inks and glues, but the food form is refined and purified.
Cloudy citrus drinks are made by spreading citrus oil through water. Oil is lighter than water, so it floats and the drink goes patchy. E445 dissolves into the oil droplets and makes them heavier, so they stay spread through the drink and it keeps its even, cloudy look.
Cloudy soft drinks, flavoured still and sparkling waters, cloudy sports drinks and some ready-mixed spirit drinks, especially lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit flavours. It is also allowed on the skin of citrus fruit and in the ink printed on hard-coated sweets. Labels call it E445 or glycerol esters of wood rosins.
The EU's Scientific Committee on Food set a temporary daily limit of 12.5mg per kg of body weight in 1994, because studies on fertility and unborn young were missing. European reviewers kept it temporary in 2018 and asked for those studies. Makers supplied them, they showed no harm, and in 2023 reviewers set a permanent limit of 10mg per kg. That only covers rosin from longleaf and slash pine. Reviewers could not judge rosin from Aleppo pine or Turkish pine, because what is in it has not been fully identified.
Reviewers set a daily limit of 10mg per kg of body weight for E445 from longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and slash pine (Pinus elliottii), replacing the temporary 12.5mg per kg limit set in 1994.
New studies on fertility and unborn young, supplied by makers, showed no harm and filled the gap identified in 2018. Reviewers raised no safety issue at the maximum permitted levels.
Reviewers could not assess E445 from Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) or Turkish pine (Pinus brutia), because the main substances in it were not fully identified.
Cloudy drinks may contain up to 100mg per litre in the UK and EU. Reviewers' estimates, based on people who stick to one brand of flavoured drink, stayed below the daily limit in every age group they looked at.
The maximum level in cloudy flavoured drinks and cloudy spirit drinks is 100mg per litre.
Rosin, the raw material, is a well-known skin allergen in its industrial forms, causing rashes in people who handle glues, cosmetics or violin rosin. The food form is chemically changed, and there are no well-documented reports of food allergy to E445. People with a severe rosin allergy may still want to know where it comes from.
Rosin (colophony) is a recognised skin allergen and is in standard patch tests, though this is about skin contact, not swallowing the refined food form.
Daily limit. 10mg per kg of body weight a day (European reviewers, 2023), for rosin from longleaf and slash pine.
People with a severe allergy to rosin (colophony) in its industrial forms, for example from glues or violin rosin, may want to ask a doctor before having drinks with E445, since it comes from the same resin. Look for E445 or glycerol esters of wood rosins.
E445 has been in soft drinks for decades and has been through two full European reviews, the latest in 2023. The gap in the evidence led to a request for studies, not a restriction, and the studies that came back showed no harm. What is left open is which pine it may come from, a question about manufacturing rather than about the additive as you drink it. The rosin allergy is real on the skin, but has not shown up as food allergy in the published record. Its job is exactly what it looks like: keeping cloudy lemonade looking even.
No. E445 is on the Food Standards Agency's approved list, mainly for cloudy flavoured drinks, at up to 100mg per litre.
Yes, it is made from rosin, the resin of certain pine trees. Raw rosin is a known skin allergen in industrial use. The food form is chemically changed, and there are no well-documented allergic reactions to E445 in food or drink in the published research.
Mainly cloudy soft drinks, including lemon and lime fizzy drinks, some cloudy flavoured waters and some ready-mixed spirit drinks. It is rarely used outside drinks. Look for E445 or glycerol esters of wood rosins.
Yes. It is made from pine resin and glycerol, with nothing from animals.
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
It's the only app that does thisUKJaneK
You Need This AppGmac2005
Best AppGK getting skinny UK App Store reviews
NutraSafe reads the label and puts every additive into plain English, with the source, right in the app.
NutraSafe Pro · £6.99/month · iOS
