E-numbers / Thickeners & emulsifiers / E466
also: CMC · carboxymethyl cellulose · sodium CMC
A thickener made from plant cellulose that gives ice cream, dressings and sauces a smooth, thick texture. Mouse studies link it to gut inflammation, and a large French study to heart disease.
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Sugar (EU and non-EU), Glucose Syrup, Palm Oil, Humectant: E422, Colours: E163, E133; Emulsifier: E471, Stabilisers: E415, E466, Preservative: E202, Flavouring
In mice given high doses, cellulose gum changed the gut bacteria and caused low-level gut inflammation.
514
of the 43,325 UK supermarket foods we checked declare E466 in their ingredients
That is 1.2%, 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. In mice given high doses, cellulose gum changed the gut bacteria and caused low-level gut inflammation. A large French study linked eating more of it to heart disease. Neither has been shown to cause harm in people at normal food amounts.
Cellulose gum is the everyday name for sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). It is made by chemically treating plant cellulose, usually from wood pulp or cotton. It is a white powder that dissolves in water into a thick, stable gel. The body does not absorb it.
It makes liquids much thicker and gives food a smooth, gel-like feel. It keeps oil and water from separating, stops ice crystals forming in frozen food, and stops sauces splitting as they stand. In reduced-fat products it gives the creamy feel fat would otherwise provide.
Ice cream and frozen desserts, reduced-fat salad dressings, sauces and gravies, gluten-free bread, soft drinks, cream cheese and cheese spreads, diet and meal-replacement products, and toothpaste. UK labels call it E466, cellulose gum or sodium carboxymethylcellulose.
The NutriNet-Santé study asked about 95,000 French adults to record everything they ate, then followed their health for about 7 years. People who ate more cellulose gum had more heart and circulation disease and more coronary heart disease. This shows a link, not proof that cellulose gum causes it, and the researchers said the results need repeating in other groups of people.
Among 95,442 French adults followed for a median of 7.4 years, higher intake of carboxymethylcellulose (E466) was linked to higher risk of heart and circulation disease and of coronary heart disease.
Two mouse studies by Chassaing and colleagues found that cellulose gum, at doses equal to a high human intake, thinned the protective mucus lining the gut, changed the gut bacteria and caused ongoing low-level inflammation. One linked this to signs of metabolic syndrome, including weight gain and higher blood sugar. These were mice given large doses in their drinking water, and whether the amounts people eat do the same is not known.
Emulsifiers including cellulose gum, at 1% in drinking water, changed the gut bacteria, thinned the mucus layer, and caused low-level gut inflammation and signs of metabolic syndrome in mice.
In mice, cellulose gum let bacteria move into the normally germ-free mucus layer and raised signs of gut inflammation. This did not happen in mice with no gut bacteria, so the effect depends on the bacteria.
The same research group tested cellulose gum in a small study of healthy adults. Some people's gut bacteria changed and became less varied after eating it, but the study was very small and the results were not the same for everyone. It is an early signal, not a confirmed effect in people.
A small randomised crossover trial found cellulose gum changed the gut bacteria of some, but not all, healthy adults, with no consistent change in signs of inflammation.
European reviewers looked at all the cellulose additives, E466 included, in 2018 and set no numerical daily limit for the general population. A 2022 follow-up on formula for babies under 16 weeks found no data had been sent in, though makers said E466 is not used in that formula. Reviewers recommended tighter limits on traces of arsenic, lead and cadmium in cellulose gum.
No numerical daily limit was set for E466, and reviewers raised no safety issue for the general population at reported use levels. They noted an indicative intake of about 660 to 900mg per kg of body weight a day.
No data were sent in on E466 in foods for babies under 16 weeks. Because makers said it is not used in those foods, no assessment for that age was done.
Daily limit. None set.
It is not a declared allergen. People with irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease may want to notice how they feel after foods containing it, given the animal and early human data on gut effects, though no clinical guidance tells people to avoid it. Look for E466, cellulose gum or sodium carboxymethylcellulose.
Cellulose gum has been used in food for decades and is approved in the UK and EU with no numerical limit. The reason it is flagged here is a set of animal studies, and a small trial in people, suggesting it can thin the gut's mucus lining and change gut bacteria. The animal doses were high compared with what most people eat, and the human trial was too small to be sure.
The French NutriNet-Santé research adds a link with heart disease in a large group of adults, which also shows a link rather than proof. The animal signal is real and makes biological sense, the evidence in people is early, and whether normal food amounts cause harm has not been answered.
No. E466 is an approved additive in the UK and is on the Food Standards Agency's list.
In mice, fairly high doses thinned the gut's mucus lining and changed gut bacteria, leading to inflammation. A small trial in people found changes in the gut bacteria of some participants. Whether the amounts in everyday food do the same in people is not yet known.
A French study of 95,442 adults, published in 2023, found people who ate more cellulose gum had more heart and circulation disease. It is one observational study and shows a link, not proof that E466 causes it.
Ice cream, reduced-fat salad dressings, processed cheese, gluten-free bread, sauces, soft drinks and meal-replacement products. Labels call it E466, cellulose gum or sodium carboxymethylcellulose.
Yes. It is made from plant cellulose, from wood pulp or cotton, with nothing from animals.
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
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