Ammonium carbonates are the acidity regulators the food industry lists as E503. In our table they are low risk: they take 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100).
- The key finding, from EU law: Binding mitigation measure: 'FBOs shall consider reducing or replacing fully or partially ammonium bicarbonate with alternative raising agents such as (a) sodium bicarbonate and acidulants, or (b) sodium bicarbonate and disodium diphosphates with organic acids or potassium variants thereof.' (Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 Annex I Part III (acrylamide mitigation measures, fine bakery wares), EUR-Lex CELEX:32017R2158)
- No child flag. The class, and the points it costs, are the same for a child of any age.
- Where you meet it. They turn up in 464 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts, most often in cookies, crackers and cakes. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 3 citations from EU law, peer-reviewed research and the FDA, each one below.
What Ammonium carbonates do 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. Ammonium carbonates take 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100). 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.
-
EU law
Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 Annex I Part III (acrylamide mitigation measures, fine bakery wares), EUR-Lex CELEX:32017R2158
Binding mitigation measure: 'FBOs shall consider reducing or replacing fully or partially ammonium bicarbonate with alternative raising agents such as (a) sodium bicarbonate and acidulants, or (b) sodium bicarbonate and disodium diphosphates with organic acids or potassium variants thereof.' -
Peer-reviewed
Foods 2022;11(15):2343 — doi:10.3390/foods11152343, Mitigation of acrylamide content in biscuits through combined physical and chemical strategies
Partial replacement of ammonium bicarbonate with sodium bicarbonate plus baking-profile changes cut acrylamide in biscuits by 87.2% versus reference. -
FDA
Substances Added to Food inventory — ammonium bicarbonate / ammonium carbonate
GRAS direct food substances (leavening agents); no US restriction.
Why this class
A credible adverse or precautionary signal that stops short of every Moderate and High criterion: peer-reviewed adverse findings not yet reflected in regulatory status, an exposure exceedance confined to high-percentile or single-event estimates, or a precautionary regulatory step short of those criteria, a reduced ADI, a data limitation noted without an adverse conclusion, a narrowed or conditioned authorisation, or a child-focused assessment or school-food law that covers the additive as part of a class.
Our confidence in this row's classification is medium. 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
Are Ammonium carbonates (E503) safe for kids?
Low risk. In Sito it takes 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100). The finding we rely on: Binding mitigation measure: 'FBOs shall consider reducing or replacing fully or partially ammonium bicarbonate with alternative raising agents such as (a) sodium bicarbonate and acidulants, or (b) sodium bicarbonate and disodium diphosphates with organic acids or potassium variants thereof.' (EU law, Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 Annex I Part III (acrylamide mitigation measures, fine bakery wares), EUR-Lex CELEX:32017R2158).
What is E503?
E503 is the E number for Ammonium carbonates, which our table lists as an acidity regulator. Open Food Facts tags it en:e503.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E503 in our table, then the closest acidity regulators by number.
- Sodium carbonates (E500), no risk identified
- Potassium carbonates (E501), no risk identified
- Carbonates (E502), no risk identified
- Potassium chloride (E508), no risk identified
- Calcium chloride (E509), no risk identified
- Ammonium chloride (E510), no risk identified