Dodecyl gallate is the antioxidant the food industry lists as E312. In our table it is high risk: it takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100).
- The key finding, from EFSA: 'the available database was too limited to either establish an ADI or serve as a basis for a margin of safety approach'; no NOAEL identifiable; could not reach a conclusion on carcinogenic potential (10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4086)
- No child flag. The class, and the points it costs, are the same for a child of any age.
- Where you meet it. None of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts list it. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 3 citations from EFSA, EU law and the FDA, each one below.
What Dodecyl gallate 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. Dodecyl gallate takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 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.
-
EFSA
10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4086
'the available database was too limited to either establish an ADI or serve as a basis for a margin of safety approach'; no NOAEL identifiable; could not reach a conclusion on carcinogenic potential. -
EU law
Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/1481
E 312 deleted from the EU Union list of authorised food additives (recital 7 cites the lack of adequate toxicological data); sell-through ended 2019-04-25. -
FDA
eCFR search of 21 CFR — no direct food-additive or GRAS listing for dodecyl gallate
No US food authorisation located.
Why this class
IARC Group 1 or 2A with a dietary exposure route; or EFSA has withdrawn or negated a safety conclusion; or EFSA’s own exposure assessment finds a child age group exceeding the ADI at mean intake; or the substance is banned or formally being phased out for food use by the EU, by the US FDA, or under a US state law.
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 Dodecyl gallate (E312) safe for kids?
High risk. In Sito it takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100). The finding we rely on: 'the available database was too limited to either establish an ADI or serve as a basis for a margin of safety approach'; no NOAEL identifiable; could not reach a conclusion on carcinogenic potential (EFSA, 10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4086).
What is E312?
E312 is the E number for Dodecyl gallate, an antioxidant. Open Food Facts tags it en:e312.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E312 in our table, then the closest antioxidants by number.
- Tocopherol-rich extract (E306), no risk identified
- Alpha-tocopherol (E307), no risk identified
- Propyl gallate (E310), low risk
- Octyl gallate (E311), high risk
- Erythorbic acid (E315), no risk identified
- Sodium erythorbate (E316), no risk identified