Propane is the additive the food industry lists as E944. In our table it is no risk identified: it takes no points off a product's score.
- The key finding, from EFSA: The three gases are of low toxicological concern as food additives with very low dietary exposure; EU specifications already limit 1,3-butadiene to ≤0.1% v/v; uncertainty remains about impurities not covered by current specifications (EFSA Journal 2025;23(1):9203, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9203, Re-evaluation of butane (E 943a), isobutane (E 943b) and propane (E 944))
- 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).
- 2 citations from EFSA and EU law, each one below.
What Propane 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. Propane 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.
-
EFSA
Journal 2025;23(1):9203 — doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9203, Re-evaluation of butane (E 943a), isobutane (E 943b) and propane (E 944)
The three gases are of low toxicological concern as food additives with very low dietary exposure; EU specifications already limit 1,3-butadiene to ≤0.1% v/v; uncertainty remains about impurities not covered by current specifications. -
EU law
Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 Annexes II/III as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/874
Permitted only as propellants in vegetable oil pan spray (professional use) and water-based emulsion spray at quantum satis, plus colour preparations at ≤1 mg/kg residue in food.
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 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 Propane (E944) 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: The three gases are of low toxicological concern as food additives with very low dietary exposure; EU specifications already limit 1,3-butadiene to ≤0.1% v/v; uncertainty remains about impurities not covered by current specifications (EFSA Journal 2025;23(1):9203, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9203, Re-evaluation of butane (E 943a), isobutane (E 943b) and propane (E 944)).
What is E944?
E944 is the E number for Propane, an additive. Open Food Facts tags it en:e944.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E944 in our table, then the closest additives of the same kind by number.
- Azodicarbonamide and carbamide (E927), low risk, flagged for young children
- Azodicarbonamide (E927a), low risk, flagged for young children
- urea (E927b), no risk identified
- Calcium peroxide (E930), no risk identified
- Butane (E943a), no risk identified
- Acesulfame K (E950), no risk identified