Calcium chloride

also: CaCl2

A mineral salt that keeps tinned vegetables firm and helps cheese and tofu set.

Get NutraSafe on the App Store → Where it turns up

Scan a barcode to check a food for calcium chloride. NutraSafe Pro · £3.99/month · iOS

An ingredient list from the sauces, dressings and condiments aisle

Silverskin Onions, Water, Spirit Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Malted Barley Extract, Firming Agent (Calcium Chloride), Preservative (Sodium Metabisulphite).

E509Mineral

Calcium chloride

Calcium chloride is a salt made of calcium and chlorine.

VeganVegetarian

448

of the 43,325 UK supermarket foods we checked declare E509 in their ingredients

That is 1%, counted by its code or its name.

Only 9.6% of these labels print “E509”. Most use the name: look for “calcium chloride”.

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

How common it is in UK food, by aisle

Sauces, dressings and condiments83 products3% of 2,776
Ready meals and pizza77 products1.6% of 4,833
Cooked and cured meats40 products2.1% of 1,938
Cupboard staples38 products2% of 1,936

What calcium chloride is, what it does and where you will see it

What is it?

Calcium chloride is a salt made of calcium and chlorine. Small amounts occur naturally in seawater and some mineral springs. For food it is made in factories, from limestone and hydrochloric acid or as a by-product of making soda ash. It dissolves easily in water and releases calcium.

What does it do?

The calcium binds the walls of plant cells together, so tinned and processed vegetables stay firm. In cheese and tofu making it puts back calcium lost when milk is heated, which helps the curd set properly. It can also add calcium to food, and it lowers the freezing point of water, which is why it is used in processing brines.

Where you will see it

Tinned tomatoes, tinned pulses such as chickpeas and kidney beans, pickled vegetables, processed cheese, fresh pasta, sports and rehydration drinks, beer and brewing water, and tofu. Chefs also use it to set jelly spheres made with alginate. Labels call it calcium chloride or E509.

What the science says

It adds a little calcium, the same as calcium from any food

Calcium chloride supplies calcium the body can use, the same mineral found in dairy and fortified food. The amount it adds to the diet is small but real. There is no credible evidence from studies in people that it causes harm as a food additive at the amounts in food.

European reviewers raised no safety issue with calcium chloride at the levels used in food, set no numerical daily limit, and treated its calcium the same as calcium from any food.

2019Regulator reviewEFSA ANS Panel re-evaluation opinion on calcium chloride (E509)

Harm only comes from medical doses, not food

At doses many times higher than anything in food, calcium given into a vein or taken in very large amounts can raise blood calcium and affect the heart's rhythm. That matters in hospital, where calcium chloride is used to treat very low blood calcium. It has nothing to do with the small amounts in food.

Too much blood calcium from calcium chloride in food is not a recognised risk at additive levels. Harm needs doses many times larger than food provides.

Regulator reviewJoint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) evaluation of calcium chloride

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
Permitted foods: Tinned and bottled vegetables and pulses · Processed cheese and cheese alternatives · Fresh pasta · Tofu and soya products · Beer and brewing water · Sports and rehydration drinks · Salt substitutes and mineral supplements
Maximum levels: No set maximum in most foods, as long as makers use no more than they need.
History: Calcium chloride has been allowed in the UK and EU for many decades. European reviewers looked at it again in 2019, as part of reviewing every approved additive, and kept it approved with no numerical daily limit. In the US it is on the FDA's GRAS list of long-used substances. No restrictions have been placed on it.

Who should be careful

People on a low-calcium diet set by their doctor should check labels for every calcium ingredient, including E509, though the amounts in food are unlikely to matter much. Look for calcium chloride or E509 on the label.

The honest read

Calcium chloride is one of the most ordinary substances in food production: a mineral salt doing a simple structural job. Its calcium and chloride are the same as the calcium and chloride the body handles every day from food. The 2019 European review found nothing to flag, and there is no active research raising concerns about it at food levels. The only place it causes real harm is a medical overdose into a vein, which has nothing to do with tinned tomatoes.

Common questions about calcium chloride

Is E509 banned in the UK?

No. Calcium chloride is fully approved in the UK and is allowed in a wide range of foods.

Does E509 have any effect on the body?

In food it adds a small amount of calcium the body can use, the same mineral as in dairy and leafy vegetables. There is no evidence of harm at the levels used in food. Very high doses given into a vein can affect heart rhythm, but that is a hospital setting, not food.

What foods contain E509?

Mostly tinned vegetables and pulses such as chickpeas and tomatoes, processed cheese, tofu, fresh pasta, and sports or rehydration drinks. Brewers also use it to adjust the minerals in water. Look for calcium chloride or E509.