Polysorbate 20 (E432)

Polysorbate 20 is the emulsifier the food industry lists as E432. In our table it is low risk: it takes 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100).

What Polysorbate 20 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. Polysorbate 20 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 10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4152
  Re-evaluation of polysorbates E 432 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate) through E 436: group ADI 25 mg/kg bw per day; refined non-brand-loyal exposure did not exceed the ADI, but toddlers at the highest level reached 24.5 mg/kg bw per day - 'very close to the ADI'; more data needed because three food categories had no reported uses and other dietary sources could not be considered.
• Peer-reviewed PMID 25731162 - Chassaing B et al., Nature 2015;519:92-96
  Polysorbate-80, the group congener tested, induced low-grade inflammation, metabolic syndrome and colitis in mice at low dietary concentrations, with mucus thinning and bacterial encroachment.

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 Polysorbate 20 (E432) 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: Re-evaluation of polysorbates E 432 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate) through E 436: group ADI 25 mg/kg bw per day; refined non-brand-loyal exposure did not exceed the ADI, but toddlers at the highest level reached 24.5 mg/kg bw per day, 'very close to the ADI'; more data needed because three food categories had no reported uses and other dietary sources could not be considered (EFSA, 10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4152).

What is E432?

E432 is the E number for Polysorbate 20, an emulsifier. Open Food Facts tags it en:e432.

Next to it on the label

The E numbers either side of E432 in our table, then the closest emulsifiers by number.

• Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate (E431), no risk identified
• 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
• Ammonium phosphatides (E442), no risk identified