E-numbers / Flavour enhancers / E631
also: sodium 5'-inosinate · IMP · disodium 5'-inosine monophosphate
A flavour enhancer that boosts savoury, umami taste, usually alongside MSG. It can be made from meat or fish, or by fermentation, and the label does not say which.
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Pork, Iodised Salt (Salt, Potassium Iodate), Dextrose, Spices, Pork Fat, Flavour Enhancers (Monosodium Glutamate, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate), Preservative (Sodium Nitrite), Beechwood Smoke
It breaks down into uric acid in the body.
193
of the 43,325 UK supermarket foods we checked declare E631 in their ingredients
That is 0.4%, 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. It breaks down into uric acid in the body. People with gout, kidney stones or high uric acid should limit foods containing it, as regular intake may raise uric acid and set off painful flare-ups.
Disodium inosinate is the sodium salt of inosinic acid, a building block found naturally in meat, fish and some fermented foods. It is made by fermenting glucose with bacteria or by breaking down yeast extract, or from meat or fish, then purified into a white powder. It is closely related to E627 (disodium guanylate), and the two are almost always used together.
It strengthens and lengthens the savoury umami taste. It works on the same taste receptors as glutamate (MSG, or glutamate found naturally in food) and multiplies its effect, so makers can use less seasoning overall. On its own it does little. Paired with glutamate it makes the taste roughly 5 to 8 times stronger.
Instant noodles and cup soups, crisps and savoury snacks, stock cubes and bouillon, soup mixes, flavoured crackers, ready meals, sauces and some processed meats. It nearly always appears with E627 (disodium guanylate) and E621 (MSG). UK labels call it disodium inosinate or E631.
Inosinate is a purine, and the body turns purines from food into uric acid, which the kidneys clear. In people with gout, high uric acid or poor kidney function, extra purines can push uric acid high enough to form crystals in the joints, setting off painful flare-ups. Most of the evidence is about high-purine foods such as offal and sardines, not additive amounts, and the dose from an additive is small. The concern is real but depends on how much is eaten.
In people with gout, eating a lot of purines over two days was linked to a much higher risk of another gout attack, whether the purines came from animal or plant foods.
The ribonucleotides, E631 included, are purines, which the body breaks down into uric acid.
Disodium inosinate can be made from pig meat or fish, or by bacterial fermentation. Sources disagree on which is more common: the Vegetarian Society says animal sources are more widespread, while the Vegetarian Resource Group found the three leading makers all use fermentation. UK labelling rules do not require the source to be stated, so E631 on its own does not tell you.
Disodium inosinate may be made from meat (pork) or fish, or by bacterial fermentation. The method is not shown on food labels.
E631 is allowed because of a 1990 review by the EU's Scientific Committee on Food, which set no numerical daily limit for the ribonucleotides (E626 to E635) as a group. European reviewers are looking at the group again. They have said they are missing data on how most of these additives are made and what impurities they carry, and they are going ahead with the review despite those gaps.
The current approval of E626 to E635 rests on a 1990 opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food, which set a group daily limit of not specified.
Reviewers said there is no information on manufacturing, impurities and solubility for most of the ribonucleotides, and that they would draft their opinion with these data gaps.
Daily limit. None set (EU Scientific Committee on Food, 1990). European reviewers are re-examining it.
People with gout, high uric acid, repeated uric acid kidney stones or poor kidney function should limit foods containing E631 or disodium inosinate, especially alongside E627, E630 or E635, which add to the purine load. Vegans and vegetarians should be cautious, because it can be made from animals and the label does not say which source was used.
Two separate issues get mixed up here. The purine and uric acid link is real chemistry, but it matters most for the roughly 1 to 2% of UK adults with gout or high uric acid. For everyone else, the dose from a seasoning additive is far below what offal or anchovies deliver. The vegan question is practical rather than a health one: it may be made from animal sources such as meat or fish, and the label does not tell you. Those are two honest reasons for certain shoppers to read the label.
No. Disodium inosinate is an approved additive in the UK and EU and is on the Food Standards Agency's register.
It can add to your purine load. The body turns it into uric acid, so for people already managing gout or high uric acid, regularly eating foods that contain it, especially with E627 or E635, adds up. The amount from an additive is smaller than from a serving of liver or sardines, but it is not zero.
Mostly savoury snacks, crisps, instant noodles, cup soups, stock cubes, dry sauce mixes, and some ready meals and processed meats. It almost always appears with E627. Look for disodium inosinate or E631.
Not reliably. It can be made from pig meat or fish, or by bacterial fermentation, and sources disagree on which is more common. UK labels do not have to say, so vegans and vegetarians should treat it as uncertain unless the maker confirms a fermentation or plant-based source.
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
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