What is it?
A natural extract from the bark of Quillaja saponaria, a tree native to Chile and Peru. The extract is rich in triterpene saponins, which are the active functional compounds. It is sometimes called quillaja extract or soapbark extract.
E-numbers / Other additives / E999
Quillaia extract
also: Quillaja extract · soapbark extract · Quillaja saponaria extract
A plant extract used as a foaming agent in soft drinks and cider. Its active components are saponins, and EFSA flagged missing reproductive safety data.
Scan a barcode to check a food for quillaia extract. NutraSafe Pro · £6.99/month · iOS
Carbonated Irish Water, Sugar, Citric Acid, Colour (Caramel), Flavouring, Preservative (Sodium Benzoate), Sweetener (Saccharin), Foaming Agent (Quillaia Extract)
E999
Quillaia extract
EFSA identified a gap in reproductive and developmental toxicity data at the 2019 re-evaluation and noted that current EU specifications may allow significant exposure to heavy metals including arsenic and lead present in the extract.
VeganVegetarian
What quillaia extract is, what it does and where you will see it
Why it’s worth knowing. EFSA identified a gap in reproductive and developmental toxicity data at the 2019 re-evaluation and noted that current EU specifications may allow significant exposure to heavy metals including arsenic and lead present in the extract. Tighter heavy metal limits were formally adopted in the EU in May 2026; it is not yet confirmed whether the UK FSA has adopted the same tighter specifications.
What does it do?
Quillaia saponins lower surface tension between water and air, creating stable foam when a liquid is agitated. In fizzy drinks this produces and sustains the characteristic head of foam. Saponins also have mild emulsifying properties, helping mix water and oil-based components. The mechanism relies on the saponin molecule having both water-attracting and fat-attracting regions.
Where you will see it
Used primarily in flavoured soft drinks where foam is a selling point, such as cream soda and cola-style drinks, and in cider and perry. It is permitted in the UK and EU in those two categories. In the EU it has also been permitted in food supplements (solid and liquid forms, excluding products for infants and young children) since November 2025; the equivalent UK extension has not yet been confirmed. On a UK label it will appear as 'quillaia extract', 'quillaia', or 'E999'.
What the science says
Saponin toxicity and the safety margin
EFSA set an acceptable daily intake of 3 mg of saponins per kilogram of body weight per day, based on a two-year rat feeding study. At the permitted level of 200 mg per litre in drinks, estimated exposure across all consumer groups, including high consumers, remains well below that limit. The toxicity of the extract is attributed to its saponin content rather than the plant material itself.
EFSA derived an ADI of 3 mg saponins/kg body weight per day based on a 2-year rat study (NOAEL 1,500 mg extract/kg bw/day) with an uncertainty factor of 100.
2019Regulatory reviewEFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF Panel), EFSA Journal
At authorised use levels in flavoured drinks and cider, dietary exposure estimates for all population groups remained well below the ADI of 3 mg saponins/kg bw/day.
2019Regulatory reviewEFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF Panel), EFSA Journal
Genotoxicity signals and in vivo clearance
An initial laboratory cell test produced an equivocal result and a positive signal when liver enzymes were added, raising a potential concern about DNA damage. A follow-up test in living rats at very high doses found no such effect. EFSA concluded genotoxicity was not a concern at food-relevant doses, though the inconsistency between the laboratory and animal results was noted.
An in vitro micronucleus assay showed equivocal results and a positive signal with metabolic activation, but a subsequent in vivo micronucleus study in rats at up to 2,000 mg saponins/kg bw/day showed no clastogenicity or aneugenicity.
2019Lab + animalEFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF Panel), EFSA Journal
Missing reproductive safety data
EFSA noted that no dedicated reproductive or developmental toxicity studies were available at the time of its re-evaluation. Long-term rat studies showed no obvious effects on reproductive organs, but this is not a substitute for purpose-designed reproductive studies. This gap remains an acknowledged uncertainty in the safety dossier.
The EFSA FAF Panel noted the absence of reproductive and developmental toxicity studies as a data gap in its 2019 re-evaluation of E999.
2019Regulatory reviewEFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF Panel), EFSA Journal
Heavy metal contamination in the extract
EFSA flagged that the existing EU specifications for quillaia extract set limits for arsenic, lead and mercury that could, at permitted use levels, result in significant consumer exposure to those metals from the extract itself. Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/2084 formally tightened those limits and added a cadmium limit; the stricter specifications apply in the EU from 9 May 2026.
EFSA noted that toxic element limits (arsenic, lead, mercury) in existing EU specifications for quillaia extract could allow significant consumer exposure, and the 2024 follow-up recommended revised specifications.
2024Regulatory reviewEFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF Panel), EFSA Journal follow-up opinion
Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/2084 of 17 October 2025 formally amended the specifications for quillaia extract (E 999), reducing maximum limits for toxic elements and adding a cadmium limit, applicable from 9 May 2026.
2025Regulatory instrumentCommission Regulation (EU) 2025/2084, EUR-Lex
Haemolytic properties of saponins
Saponins, the active compounds in quillaia extract, disrupt red blood cell membranes in laboratory conditions, which is known as haemolytic activity. This property is well established for plant saponins generally. EFSA used haemolytic activity as a detection method in laboratory work but did not identify it as a safety concern at the low concentrations absorbed from food.
Quillaia saponins were detected in toxicological studies through their haemolytic action on erythrocytes; saponin absorption from the gastrointestinal tract was considered limited.
2019Lab + animalEFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF Panel), EFSA Journal
Where it stands with the regulators
Approved for use in the UK and EU in two specific food categories (flavoured drinks; cider and perry). In the EU, authorisation was extended to food supplements from November 2025 by Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/2084; the equivalent UK extension has not yet been confirmed.
- Legal basis
- UK FSA approved-additives list and assimilated EU Regulation 1333/2008 (Annex II); EU extension to food supplements enacted by Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/2084
- Permitted foods
- Flavoured drinks (FC 14.1.4) - UK and EU; Cider and perry, excluding certain quality designations (FC 14.2.3) - UK and EU; Food supplements, solid and liquid forms, excluding supplements for infants and young children - EU only from 9 November 2025 (UK status not yet confirmed)
- Maximum levels
- 200 mg/l (expressed as anhydrous extract) for drinks categories; specific level for food supplements set in Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/2084
- Safe-intake limit (ADI)
- 3 mg saponins/kg body weight per day (EFSA 2019)
- History
- Re-evaluated by EFSA in 2019; ADI established for the first time at that review. A 2024 follow-up EFSA opinion (EFSA Journal 2024:8563) recommended revisions to EU specifications to tighten heavy metal limits and improve characterisation of saponin content. A separate EFSA opinion (EFSA Journal 2024:9140, published December 2024) evaluated the proposed extension of use to food supplements and reached a positive safety conclusion, finding that exposure estimates at typical reported use levels would not exceed the ADI. Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/2084 (17 October 2025) enacted both the food supplements extension (applicable from 9 November 2025) and the tighter specifications including lower heavy metal limits and a new cadmium limit (applicable from 9 May 2026). The UK FSA register recorded an update to the E999 entry in April 2025 under the reformed regulated products framework; post-Brexit, the UK does not automatically adopt EU amending regulations and the food supplements extension has not been confirmed as adopted in Great Britain.
Who should be careful
No declarable allergen status and no specific population group is formally contraindicated. People who wish to minimise exposure to additives with unresolved reproductive safety data may choose to avoid products listing 'quillaia extract' or 'E999', which will appear primarily on flavoured soft drinks and cider labels.
The honest read
E999 is a narrow-use additive, appearing only in drinks where foam is a feature. At the low concentrations permitted, current dietary exposure sits well inside the safety margin EFSA set. However, two genuine uncertainties remain on the record: no dedicated reproductive or developmental toxicity studies exist, and the extract as originally specified in EU law carried enough arsenic and lead to matter at scale. EFSA's 2024 follow-up flagged both points; the EU Commission formally tightened the heavy metal limits in October 2025, though UK adoption of those tighter limits has not yet been confirmed. The science here is not fully settled.
Common questions about quillaia extract
Is E999 banned in the UK?
No. Quillaia extract is permitted in the UK under the retained version of EU Regulation 1333/2008, but only in flavoured drinks and in cider and perry, at a maximum of 200 mg per litre. It is not permitted across food categories generally. The EU extended permission to food supplements in November 2025, but the UK has not yet confirmed adoption of that extension.
Do saponins in quillaia extract cause harm at food levels?
EFSA concluded that dietary exposure from permitted uses is well below the acceptable daily intake of 3 mg saponins per kilogram of body weight. However, EFSA also noted that no reproductive or developmental toxicity studies were available, which is an unresolved gap in the safety record.
What foods contain E999?
In the UK and EU, E999 is permitted in flavoured soft drinks and in cider and perry. Cream soda and similar carbonated drinks that have a foam head are the most likely products. In the EU it has also been permitted in food supplements since November 2025. It will be listed as 'quillaia extract', 'quillaia', or 'E999' in the ingredients.
Is E999 vegan?
Yes. Quillaia extract is derived entirely from the bark of the Quillaja saponaria tree and contains no animal-derived ingredients.
Sources
- EFSA FAF Panel re-evaluation of quillaia extract (E 999) as a food additive and safety of proposed extension of use (2019)
- EFSA FAF Panel follow-up of the re-evaluation of quillaia extract (E 999) as a food additive (2024)
- EFSA Scientific opinion on extension of uses of quillaia extract (E 999) to food supplements (2024, EFSA Journal 9140)
- Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/2084 of 17 October 2025 amending Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 and Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 as regards quillaia extract (E 999)
- UK FSA approved additives and E numbers
- UK FSA regulated products register - quillaia extract (E-999)
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
Related additives
It's the only app that does thisUKJaneK
You Need This AppGmac2005
Best AppGK getting skinny UK App Store reviews
See this on every food you scan
NutraSafe reads the label and puts every additive into plain English, with the source, right in the app.
NutraSafe Pro · £6.99/month · iOS