Octyl gallate is the antioxidant the food industry lists as E311. 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: Metabolism data insufficient to justify read-across from propyl gallate; database too limited to establish an ADI or apply a margin-of-safety approach, safety could not be confirmed (10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4248 ('Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of octyl gallate (E 311) as a food additive'))
- 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 Octyl 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. Octyl 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.
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EFSA
10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4248 ('Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of octyl gallate (E 311) as a food additive')
Metabolism data insufficient to justify read-across from propyl gallate; database too limited to establish an ADI or apply a margin-of-safety approach — safety could not be confirmed. -
EU law
Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/1481 (CELEX 32018R1481)
E 311 (and E 312) deleted from the Union list of authorised food additives; recital 9 records that after the 2017 call for data no business operator committed to providing the requested toxicological data; foods lawfully placed on the market could be sold only until 2019-04-25. -
FDA
eCFR search of 21 CFR — no direct food-additive or GRAS listing for octyl gallate
No US food-additive authorisation located; not a US-market ingredient.
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 Octyl gallate (E311) 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: Metabolism data insufficient to justify read-across from propyl gallate; database too limited to establish an ADI or apply a margin-of-safety approach, safety could not be confirmed (EFSA, 10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4248 ('Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of octyl gallate (E 311) as a food additive')).
What is E311?
E311 is the E number for Octyl gallate, an antioxidant. Open Food Facts tags it en:e311.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E311 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
- Dodecyl gallate (E312), high risk
- Erythorbic acid (E315), no risk identified
- Sodium erythorbate (E316), no risk identified