Sodium aluminium phosphate is the acidity regulator the food industry lists as E541. In our table it is moderate risk: it takes 15 points off the additive subscore, a third of a product's score (about 5 of the 100).
- The key finding, from EFSA: No safety concern at current EU authorised uses (near-zero exposure); P95 aluminium exposure up to 0.88 mg/kg bw/day in toddlers and children was judged highly uncertain because the niche products are not captured in EU consumption surveys (EFSA Journal 2018;16(7):5372, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5372, Re-evaluation of aluminium sulphates (E 520 to 523) and sodium aluminium phosphate (E 541))
- 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 high risk.
- 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).
- 3 citations from EFSA, EU law and the FDA, each one below.
What Sodium aluminium phosphate 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. Sodium aluminium phosphate takes 15 points off the additive subscore, a third of a product's score (about 5 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.
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 2018;16(7):5372 — doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5372, Re-evaluation of aluminium sulphates (E 520–523) and sodium aluminium phosphate (E 541)
No safety concern at current EU authorised uses (near-zero exposure); P95 aluminium exposure up to 0.88 mg/kg bw/day in toddlers and children was judged highly uncertain because the niche products are not captured in EU consumption surveys. -
EU law
Commission Regulation (EU) No 380/2012 (conditions of use for aluminium-containing food additives), EUR-Lex CELEX:32012R0380
Restricted all aluminium additives for consumer protection and de-authorised E 556/E 558/E 559; recitals rest on EFSA's 1 mg/kg bw/week TWI being 'generally exceeded for high consumers, especially children'. E 541 as a raising agent survives only for one sponge-cake type at 0.4 g/kg. -
FDA
Substances Added to Food inventory — sodium aluminum phosphate
Permitted in the US as a leavening acid and processed-cheese emulsifier with no aluminium-specific intake limit.
Why this class
IARC Group 2B; or an EFSA re-evaluation that flagged genotoxicity data gaps, found safety could not be assessed on the available data, or cut the ADI citing child exposure; or an EU harmonised classification of the substance as a reproductive or developmental hazard; or an EU withdrawal of one authorised food use while others remain; or an OEHHA/Proposition 65 listing; or membership of the Southampton-six colourants.
Our confidence in this row's classification is medium. 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 Sodium aluminium phosphate (E541) safe for kids?
Moderate risk. In Sito it takes 15 points off the additive subscore, a third of a product's score (about 5 of the 100). It is flagged for young children, so for a child under 6 it moves up one class, to high risk: 30 points off the additive subscore. The finding we rely on: No safety concern at current EU authorised uses (near-zero exposure); P95 aluminium exposure up to 0.88 mg/kg bw/day in toddlers and children was judged highly uncertain because the niche products are not captured in EU consumption surveys (EFSA Journal 2018;16(7):5372, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5372, Re-evaluation of aluminium sulphates (E 520 to 523) and sodium aluminium phosphate (E 541)).
What is E541?
E541 is the E number for Sodium aluminium phosphate, an acidity regulator. Open Food Facts tags it en:e541.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E541 in our table, then the closest acidity regulators by number.
- Aluminium sodium sulphate (E521), moderate risk, flagged for young children
- Aluminium potassium sulphate (E522), moderate risk, flagged for young children
- Aluminium ammonium sulphate (E523), moderate risk, flagged for young children
- Sodium hydroxide (E524), no risk identified
- Calcium ferrocyanide (E538), no risk identified
- Silicon dioxide (E551), no risk identified