propylene glycol esters (E477): What the Sources Found

Propane-1,2-diol esters of fatty acids (propylene glycol esters) is the emulsifier the food industry lists as E477. In our table it is no risk identified: it takes no points off a product's score for a child.

In short

No risk identified. No regulator finding we score, so a product keeps all 33 additive points.
No child flag. Nothing below is written about children specifically, so the class is the same at every age.
3 citations from EFSA, FDA, Law, each one below.

What propylene glycol esters does to a score

A packaged food starts with 33 points for what is in its ingredient list. propylene glycol esters 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.

What the sources found

Every classification in our table comes from the citations below, and nothing else. They are quoted as the source wrote them.

EFSA 10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5497 (EFSA Journal 2018;16(12):5497, PMC7009423 — Re-evaluation of propane-1,2-diol esters of fatty acids (E 477) as a food additive)
'The Panel confirmed the previously established ADI for propane-1,2-diol esters of fatty acids (E 477) of 25 mg/kg bw per day expressed as propane 1,2 diol', corresponding to 80 mg/kg bw/day for E 477. 'The exposure estimates from the refined non-brand loyal scenario did not exceed the ADI of E 477 in any of the population groups.' The Panel considered that E 477 'did not raise a concern for genotoxicity', and that there would be no safety concern at the reported use levels.
FDA 21 CFR 172.856 (Propylene glycol mono- and diesters of fats and fatty acids) — Part 172 "Food Additives Permitted for Direct Addition to Food for Human Consumption"; verified against the current eCFR structure
The corresponding US listing; permitted for direct addition to food in the US.
Law Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 Annex II, consolidated text 02008R1333 — EN — 16.12.2024 — 059.001 (EUR-Lex ELI: reg/2008/1333)
E 477 authorised in the EU with numerical maximum levels by food category (e.g. 5 000 mg/kg in some categories, 1 000 mg/kg for beverage whiteners) rather than quantum satis.

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.