Sorbitan monostearate (E491)

Names on a label

• E491
• E 491
• Sorbitan monostearate

Labels outside Europe often print the number on its own, without the E.

What it’s used for

The FDA lists these uses in food: emulsifier or emulsifier salt; flavoring agent or adjuvant; processing aid; solvent or vehicle; stabilizer or thickener; surface-active agent; surface-finishing agent.¹

What regulators and scientists say

• EFSA set an acceptable daily intake of 10 mg per kilogram of body weight per day (April 5, 2017). For a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, that’s about 700 mg a day.²
• The FDA permits it as a food additive by regulation (21 CFR 172.515, 172.836, 172.838).¹

An acceptable daily intake is, in EFSA’s words, “an estimate of the amount of a substance in food or drinking water that can be consumed daily over a lifetime without presenting an appreciable risk to health.”³