Glycerol (E422)

Glycerol is the additive the food industry lists as E422. In our table it is low risk: it takes 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100).

What Glycerol 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. Glycerol takes 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100), and a child under 6 sees it one class higher again. 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.

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 Journal 2026;24(?):10057 — doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2026.10057, Safety of acute exposure to the food additive glycerol (E 422) from beverages
  ARfD of 125 mg glycerol/kg bw per single consumption event derived; acute exposure from a slush ice drink (250 mL for children) exceeds the ARfD in all population groups; max single-event volume 82.7 mL for toddlers 1–2 y; EFSA recommends numerical maximum levels in beverages.
• EFSA Journal 2017;15(3):4720 — Re-evaluation of glycerol (E 422) as a food additive
  Chronic re-evaluation found no safety concern at reported uses and use levels; no numerical ADI needed.
• Agency review Food Safety Authority of Ireland / national advisories on slush ice drinks containing glycerol (updated advice: not for children aged 10 and under)
  National regulators advise against slush ice drinks for young children following clinical cases of glycerol intoxication.

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 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 Glycerol (E422) safe for kids?

Low risk. In Sito it takes 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100). It is flagged for young children, so for a child under 6 it moves up one class, to moderate risk: 15 points off the additive subscore. The finding we rely on: ARfD of 125 mg glycerol/kg bw per single consumption event derived; acute exposure from a slush ice drink (250 mL for children) exceeds the ARfD in all population groups; max single-event volume 82.7 mL for toddlers 1 to 2 y; EFSA recommends numerical maximum levels in beverages (EFSA Journal 2026;24(?):10057, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2026.10057, Safety of acute exposure to the food additive glycerol (E 422) from beverages).

What is E422?

E422 is the E number for Glycerol, an additive. Open Food Facts tags it en:e422.

Next to it on the label

The E numbers either side of E422 in our table, then the closest additives of the same kind by number.

• Mannitol (E421), no risk identified
• Konjac (E425), moderate risk, flagged for young children
• Sodium ferrocyanide (E535), no risk identified
• Potassium ferrocyanide (E536), no risk identified
• Calcium ferrocyanide (E538), no risk identified
• Silicon dioxide (E551), no risk identified