Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate is the emulsifier the food industry lists as E431. In our table it is no risk identified: it takes no points off a product's score.
- The key finding, from UK law: Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate (E 431) is listed as 'Authorised' as a food additive in England, Scotland and Wales under assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 Annex II, with specifications under assimilated Regulation (EU) No 231/2012; status last changed 31 December 2020 (UK FSA Regulated Products Register, entry e-431 (data.food.gov.uk), regulatory register)
- 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).
- 1 citation from UK law, each one below.
What Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate 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. Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate 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.
-
UK law
UK FSA Regulated Products Register, entry e-431 (data.food.gov.uk) - regulatory register
Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate (E 431) is listed as 'Authorised' as a food additive in England, Scotland and Wales under assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 Annex II, with specifications under assimilated Regulation (EU) No 231/2012; status last changed 31 December 2020.
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 low. 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 Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate (E431) 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: Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate (E 431) is listed as 'Authorised' as a food additive in England, Scotland and Wales under assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 Annex II, with specifications under assimilated Regulation (EU) No 231/2012; status last changed 31 December 2020 (UK FSA Regulated Products Register, entry e-431 (data.food.gov.uk), regulatory register).
What is E431?
E431 is the E number for Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate, an emulsifier. Open Food Facts tags it en:e431.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E431 in our table, then the closest emulsifiers by number.
- Gelatine (E428), no risk identified
- Polysorbate 20 (E432), low risk, flagged for young children
- Polysorbate 80 (E433), low risk, flagged for young children
- Polysorbate 40 (E434), low risk, flagged for young children
- Polysorbate 60 (E435), low risk, flagged for young children
- Polysorbate 65 (E436), low risk, flagged for young children