E-numbers / Other additives / E904
also: Confectioner's glaze · Confectioners glaze · Lac resin · Pure food glaze
A resin made by the lac insect, used to give sweets, chocolates and fresh fruit their shine. It is not vegan, and the bleached form has impurities regulators could not identify.
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Sugar (70%), Non-Hydrogenated Vegetable Fat (20%), Cocoa Powder (7%), Emulsifier (Rapeseed Lecithin), Glazing Agents (Acacia Gum, Sugar, Shellac)
Shellac comes from an insect, so food containing it is not vegan or vegetarian.
110
of the 43,325 UK supermarket foods we checked declare E904 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. Shellac comes from an insect, so food containing it is not vegan or vegetarian. Chemically bleached shellac contains chlorine-based impurities whose identity and health effects European reviewers could not confirm in 2024.
Shellac is a resin made by the female lac insect (Kerria lacca) as it feeds on trees in South and Southeast Asia. The raw resin is collected, cleaned and refined into flakes. For food it is used with the wax removed, either lightened by filtering or bleached with chlorine chemicals. It is one of very few food additives that come from insects.
Dissolved in alcohol and brushed or sprayed on, it dries to a thin, hard, shiny film that keeps moisture out. On fruit it slows drying out and mould, so fruit keeps longer. On sweets it stops them sticking together and gives the glossy shell of coated sweets.
Hard-coated sweets, chocolate-covered nuts and raisins, sugar-coated chocolates, jelly beans, fresh citrus fruit (oranges, lemons, limes), apples and pears in supermarkets, and the coating on some tablets. UK labels call it E904, shellac or glazing agent: shellac.
Bleaching shellac uses chlorine chemicals. European reviewers found eight chlorine-containing compounds in samples of bleached shellac in 2024, but were not given what they are or how much is there, so they could not judge whether they matter. They made the daily limit for bleached shellac temporary until makers supply that data.
Eight chlorinated compounds were found in chemically bleached shellac, but their identity and levels were not available, so reviewers could not confirm they raise no health concern.
The daily limit of 4mg per kg of body weight was made temporary for chemically bleached shellac, until new data on the chlorine-based impurities are provided.
Reviewers set a daily limit of 4mg per kg of body weight for shellac lightened by filtering, from a no-harm dose of 400mg per kg in animal studies with a 100-fold safety margin. In their worst-case estimates, the heaviest eaters in several age groups went over it. Reviewers judged the overshoot small and the estimates cautious, and did not treat it as a safety concern.
A daily limit of 4mg per kg of body weight was set for filtered, wax-free shellac, based on a no-harm dose of 400mg per kg a day in animals and a 100-fold safety factor.
In the worst-case scenarios, the heaviest eaters (top 5%) in several age groups went over the daily limit. Reviewers did not treat this as a safety concern because both the intake and toxicity estimates were cautious.
Shellac is made by the lac insect, so it is not vegan or vegetarian. This is about diet and ethics rather than health, but it is the most common reason people look for E904 on a label.
Shellac is made from the resin secreted by the lac insect and counts as an animal product, so it does not suit vegan or vegetarian diets.
Daily limit. 4mg per kg of body weight a day (temporary for chemically bleached shellac, pending impurity data).
Vegans and vegetarians, because it is made by insects. People who keep kosher should check with their authority, as rulings on shellac differ. People with a known skin allergy to shellac, usually from occupational exposure or cosmetics, may want to avoid it. Look for E904, shellac or glazing agent: shellac.
Shellac has a long history as a food coating and now has a formal daily limit. The open question is the chemically bleached form: in 2024 European reviewers found eight chlorine-based compounds they could not identify and left the limit for that form temporary. Whether those impurities matter at the amounts in food is unknown until makers supply the data. The other practical point has nothing to do with toxicity: it comes from insects, which rules it out for many vegetarians and vegans.
No. Shellac is on the Food Standards Agency's approved list and is still allowed in the UK. European reviewers looked at it in 2024 and it remains approved in the EU too.
European reviewers found eight chlorine-based compounds in bleached shellac in 2024 and could not confirm what they are or how much is there. They made the daily limit for that form temporary until makers provide the data.
Hard-coated sweets, chocolate-covered nuts and raisins, sugar-coated chocolates, and fresh citrus fruit and apples coated to keep longer. It is also on some tablets for special medical diets. Look for E904, shellac or glazing agent: shellac.
No. It is made from a resin the lac insect produces, so it is an animal product and not vegan or vegetarian.
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
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