Acetic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (ACETEM) is the emulsifier the food industry lists as E472a. In our table it is no risk identified: it takes no points off a product's score.
- The key finding, from EFSA: 'there is no need for a numerical ADI for E 472a,b,c'; 'considering the exposure estimates, there is no safety concern at their reported uses and use levels for E 472a-f'; E 472a-f are not of concern with regard to genotoxicity (10.2903/j.efsa.2020.6032 (EFSA Journal 2020;18(3):6032, PMC7448088, Re-evaluation of E 472a-f as food additives))
- No child flag. The class, and the points it costs, are the same for a child of any age.
- Where you meet it. It turns up in 3 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts, most often in cakes. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 3 citations from EFSA, the FDA and EU law, each one below.
What ACETEM does to a score
A packaged food's additive subscore starts at 100 and loses points for each additive on the label; that subscore is a third of the final score. ACETEM takes no points off a product's score. Scan the pack in Sito and the score you get is the one for your own child's age, with this additive named in the reasons. How we score has the whole method.
See what is in your own cupboard
Scan a packaged food and Sito names the additives in it, then scores the product out of 100 for your child's age.
What the sources found
Every classification in our table comes from the citations below, and nothing else. Each finding is our one-line summary of what the source concluded, with the source and reference beside it.
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EFSA
10.2903/j.efsa.2020.6032 (EFSA Journal 2020;18(3):6032, PMC7448088 — Re-evaluation of E 472a-f as food additives)
'there is no need for a numerical ADI for E 472a,b,c'; 'considering the exposure estimates, there is no safety concern at their reported uses and use levels for E 472a-f'; E 472a-f are not of concern with regard to genotoxicity. -
FDA
21 CFR 172.828 (Acetylated monoglycerides) — Part 172 "Food Additives Permitted for Direct Addition to Food for Human Consumption"; verified against the current eCFR structure
The corresponding US listing; acetylated monoglycerides are permitted for direct addition to food in the US. -
EU law
Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 Annex II, consolidated text 02008R1333 — EN — 16.12.2024 — 059.001 (EUR-Lex ELI: reg/2008/1333)
E 472a authorised in the EU at quantum satis across the Group I categories.
Why this class
Clean current EFSA and FDA status. These rows exist so that an unfamiliar additive is never treated as a bad one: a missing row costs a product nothing, and a clean row says so with citations.
Our confidence in this row's classification is high. Medium or low does not mean the evidence is weak; it means something about the row is still being pinned down, usually a regulatory status confirmed from one source rather than two.
Questions parents ask
Is ACETEM (E472a) safe for kids?
No risk identified. No regulator finding we score, so a product keeps its full additive subscore in Sito. The current status is clean: 'there is no need for a numerical ADI for E 472a,b,c'; 'considering the exposure estimates, there is no safety concern at their reported uses and use levels for E 472a-f'; E 472a-f are not of concern with regard to genotoxicity (EFSA, 10.2903/j.efsa.2020.6032 (EFSA Journal 2020;18(3):6032, PMC7448088, Re-evaluation of E 472a-f as food additives)).
What is E472a?
E472a is the E number for Acetic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, an emulsifier. It is also called ACETEM. It is one of the forms of E472 (Esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids) in our table, with E472b, E472c and E472e. Open Food Facts tags it en:e472a.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E472a in our table, then the closest emulsifiers by number.
- Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E471), no risk identified
- Esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E472), no risk identified
- Lactic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E472b), no risk identified
- CITREM (E472c), no risk identified
- DATEM (E472e), no risk identified
- Sucrose esters of fatty acids (E473), high risk, flagged for young children