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Polysorbate 65 (E436)

Table v1.3 (data as of 14 Aug 2026), page updated 26 Sep 2026

Polysorbate 65 is the emulsifier the food industry lists as E436. In our table it is low risk: it takes 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100).

In short
  • The key finding, from EFSA: Re-evaluation of polysorbates E 432 to E 436 (E 436 = polyoxyethylene sorbitan tristearate): group ADI of 25 mg/kg bw per day from JECFA retained; refined non-brand-loyal exposure did not exceed the ADI for any age group at mean or high level, but 'the estimated exposure of toddlers at the highest level in a non-brand loyal scenario remains very close to the ADI (24.5 mg/kg bw/day)' (10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4152)
  • Flagged for young children. Set only where EFSA’s own exposure assessment shows toddlers or children exceeding or approaching the ADI, or where a regulator used explicitly child-specific language. For a child under 6 it moves up one class, to moderate risk.
  • Where you meet it. It turns up in 1 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
  • 4 citations from EFSA, peer-reviewed research and the FDA, each one below.

What Polysorbate 65 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 65 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.

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.

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Sito app: a cereal scored 30 out of 100 for a child's age Sito app: logging a child's meal from a photo

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–E 436 (E 436 = polyoxyethylene sorbitan tristearate): group ADI of 25 mg/kg bw per day from JECFA retained; refined non-brand-loyal exposure did not exceed the ADI for any age group at mean or high level, but 'the estimated exposure of toddlers at the highest level in a non-brand loyal scenario remains very close to the ADI (24.5 mg/kg bw/day)'.
  • EFSA 10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4152 (data-gap conclusion)
    No reported uses were obtained for three food categories and other dietary sources of polysorbate exposure could not be considered; more data are needed to reduce uncertainty in the refined exposure assessment.
  • Peer-reviewed PMID 25731162 - Chassaing B et al., Nature 2015;519:92-96
    Polysorbate-80 (same E 432–E 436 group) and CMC at low concentrations induced low-grade inflammation and metabolic syndrome in wild-type mice and robust colitis in colitis-prone mice, with reduced mucus thickness and increased bacterial encroachment.
  • FDA 21 CFR §172.838 (polysorbate 65)
    Permitted as an emulsifier in ice cream, frozen custard, ice milk, fruit sherbet and non-standardised frozen desserts (≤0.1% alone or with polysorbate 80); cakes and cake mixes; whipped edible oil topping; edible vegetable fat-water emulsions used as milk/cream substitutes in beverage coffee; and cake icings and fillings.

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 65 (E436) 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 to E 436 (E 436 = polyoxyethylene sorbitan tristearate): group ADI of 25 mg/kg bw per day from JECFA retained; refined non-brand-loyal exposure did not exceed the ADI for any age group at mean or high level, but 'the estimated exposure of toddlers at the highest level in a non-brand loyal scenario remains very close to the ADI (24.5 mg/kg bw/day)' (EFSA, 10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4152).

What is E436?

E436 is the E number for Polysorbate 65, an emulsifier. Open Food Facts tags it en:e436.

Next to it on the label

The E numbers either side of E436 in our table, then the closest emulsifiers by number.

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