E numbers halal list

Out of the 438 E numbers we track, every code on the EU list plus the withdrawn and never approved ones people still search for, only 3 are a flat halal avoid. 163 more depend on a source the label never names, and the remaining 272 are generally fine. Below: the rule, all three groups, and a full table of the colours, emulsifiers and glazing agents that actually bite.

Holding a label with one code on it? Type it into the E number checker for its source and its halal, kosher and vegan status in one line.

The conservative rule this list uses

One rule, applied every time: if a source can be animal, halal, kosher and vegetarian are never better than depends, and vegan is avoid for anything animal or insect derived. That is why beeswax and lanolin, which most halal authorities call outright halal, still read as depends: the substance is animal derived even though the ruling is settled. Avoid is reserved for codes the EU specification names an animal or insect source for directly.

Avoid

Three codes fail outright: the specification names an animal or insect raw material directly, and no authority we checked treats it as acceptable. Two of the three, E542 and E909, are not approved for use in the EU today.

E numbers to avoid, checked 2026-09-12
Code	Name	Why
E120	Carminic acid, Carmine	Deep red colour made from the dried bodies of the female cochineal insect. Used in drinks, yoghurts, sweets and meat products.
E542	Bone phosphate	Calcium phosphate made by calcining animal bones. Used as an anticaking agent and calcium source.
E909	Spermaceti wax	Wax from the head cavity of the sperm whale. Historic, and not permitted today.

What is E120 and is carmine halal cover cochineal red, the one avoid code people actually search for, in full.

Depends on source

163 codes fall here, grouped by the job they do. Depends means the label does not settle it; a certification mark or a manufacturer's statement does.

E numbers that depend on source, by category, checked 2026-09-12
Category	Why it depends
Colour (47)	Halal dry, doubtful once dissolved: the carrier is not always vegetable.
Emulsifier (42)	The fatty acid can be palm, soy or animal tallow. The label never says which.
Other (25)	Mixed: phosphates that could be bone derived, and amino acids from hair or feathers.
Flavour enhancer (17)	Usually fermentation, but some nucleotide enhancers trace back to fish or meat.
Acidity regulator (11)	Lactic acid can come from whey, tartaric acid from wine byproducts.
Antioxidant (7)	Synthetic, but usually dissolved in a fat or oil carrier that has to be vegetable.
Stabiliser or thickener (6)	Mostly phosphated starches, where the phosphate could be bone derived.
Glazing agent (5)	Waxes from an animal or insect source, mostly accepted but never vegan.
Preservative (2)	One is an egg white enzyme; the other a curing salt with a disputed history.
Sweetener (1)	Lactitol is made from lactose, milk sugar, so it is dairy derived.

Generally fine

The remaining 272 codes cannot be made from an animal. Most are preservatives, stabilisers and acidity regulators built from mineral salts or plant starches.

E numbers that are generally fine, by category, checked 2026-09-12
Category	Count
Other	70
Stabiliser or thickener	50
Preservative	44
Acidity regulator	33
Sweetener	22
Glazing agent	16
Colour	14
Antioxidant	13
Emulsifier	6
Flavour enhancer	4

Generally fine describes the additive alone, never a certified product. It can still sit in a product that fails on a different ingredient, which is why PlatePal screens the whole label rather than one code at a time.

The full table of faith-relevant codes

Colour, emulsify or glaze: the three jobs an animal or insect raw material can quietly fill. Below is every currently EU-approved code in those categories that is not already ok, sorted by code. Tap a code for its full entry in the decoder, or for its own explainer page where one exists.

Faith-relevant E numbers: colours, emulsifiers and glazing agents, checked 2026-09-12
Code	Name	Made from	Halal	Kosher	Vegan
E100	Curcumin	Plant	Depends	Depends	OK
E101	Riboflavins	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E102	Tartrazine	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E104	Quinoline Yellow	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	Depends
E110	Sunset Yellow FCF	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E120	Carminic acid, Carmine	Insect	Avoid	Avoid	Avoid
E122	Azorubine, Carmoisine	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E123	Amaranth	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E124	Ponceau 4R	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E127	Erythrosine	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E129	Allura Red AC	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E131	Patent Blue V	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E132	Indigotine	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E133	Brilliant Blue FCF	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E140	Chlorophylls and chlorophyllins	Plant	Depends	Depends	OK
E141	Copper complexes of chlorophylls and chlorophyllins	Plant	Depends	Depends	OK
E142	Green S	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E150d	Sulphite ammonia caramel	Plant	Depends	Depends	OK
E151	Brilliant Black PN	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E153	Vegetable carbon	Plant	Depends	Depends	Depends
E155	Brown HT	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E160a	Carotenes	Plant	Depends	Depends	Depends
E160e	Beta-apo-8'-carotenal	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	Depends
E161b	Lutein	Plant	Depends	Depends	OK
E163	Anthocyanins	Plant	Depends	Depends	OK
E170	Calcium carbonate	Mineral	Depends	Depends	Depends
E180	Litholrubine BK	Synthetic	Depends	Depends	OK
E322	Lecithins	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E431	Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E432	Polysorbate 20	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E433	Polysorbate 80	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E434	Polysorbate 40	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E435	Polysorbate 60	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E436	Polysorbate 65	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E442	Ammonium phosphatides	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E445	Glycerol esters of wood rosins	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E470a	Sodium, potassium and calcium salts of fatty acids	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E470b	Magnesium salts of fatty acids	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E471	Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E472a	Acetic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E472b	Lactic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E472c	Citric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E472d	Tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E472e	Mono- and diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E472f	Mixed acetic and tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E473	Sucrose esters of fatty acids	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E474	Sucroglycerides	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E475	Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E476	Polyglycerol polyricinoleate	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E477	Propane-1,2-diol esters of fatty acids	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E479b	Thermally oxidised soya bean oil interacted with mono- and diglycerides	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E481	Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E482	Calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E491	Sorbitan monostearate	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E492	Sorbitan tristearate	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E493	Sorbitan monolaurate	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E494	Sorbitan monooleate	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E495	Sorbitan monopalmitate	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E570	Fatty acids	Varies by manufacturer	Depends	Depends	Depends
E901	Beeswax, white and yellow	Insect	Depends	Depends	Avoid
E904	Shellac	Insect	Depends	Depends	Avoid

61 codes are listed above. A code missing here is not automatically clear: it may sit in a different job category with its own depends verdict further up this page. The E number checker covers all 438 codes in the full data set.

Codes with their own full page

Is E471 halal and is carmine halal carry nuance a table row cannot, and is gelatin halal covers E441. E422, glycerin, gets the same treatment at is glycerin halal, and E476, the PGPR emulsifier in most chocolate bars, at is E476 halal. For a finished product, use the halal food checker, or browse every halal answer on the is it halal page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the E numbers halal list?

This page sorts the 438 E numbers we track, every code on the EU list plus the withdrawn and never approved ones people still search for, into three groups: 3 to avoid, 163 that depend on the source, and 272 generally fine. The full table below narrows to the colours, emulsifiers and glazing agents where an animal or insect source is most likely, each linked into the decoder.

What are the haram E numbers?

Only E120, carmine or cochineal, fails outright for every authority we checked, since it comes from a crushed insect. E542 bone phosphate and E909 spermaceti wax fail the same way, both named for an animal source in their own specification, and neither is approved for use in the EU today. The E470 to E495 emulsifier block and most colours in liquid form are depends cases, not a flat haram.

Which E numbers are always halal?

The 272 "generally fine" codes, mostly preservatives, stabilisers and acidity regulators whose manufacture cannot be animal. None carry a certifier though, so Likely OK on an additive is not the same claim as a certified product.

Why do E471 and the other emulsifiers show up as depends?

Because the chemistry does not decide it. E471 and the E470 to E495 block are made from fatty acids that can come from palm oil, soy oil or animal tallow, identical either way. SANHA and the Muslim Consumer Group lineage both ask for the fat source to be checked rather than assumed.

Does an E number by itself tell me a product is halal?

No, never on its own. A code names the chemical, not the raw material, and the same code can be plant, mineral or animal depending on the factory. Check the whole ingredient list and any certification mark, or scan the barcode in the product checker.

What this page is not

Allergens. PlatePal screens ingredient data, so this page is information and not medical advice. A recipe can change before the data does, and shared equipment never appears in an ingredient list. Always read the label on the package in your hand, and follow your allergist or doctor over any app.

Religious status. A screening result is not a religious ruling. Certifiers and schools of thought differ, and PlatePal does not rank them. For anything you hold yourself strictly to, ask a qualified authority or the certifier you already follow.

Data checked on 2026-09-12. Formulations change; verify your package.

Sources

Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives (Annex II Part B is the Union list) Checked 2026-09-12.
SANHA, halaal E numbers list Checked 2026-09-12.
SANHA, haraam E numbers list (E120 is the only entry) Checked 2026-09-12.
SANHA, mashbooh E numbers list (the E470 to E483 emulsifier block) Checked 2026-09-12.
International Halal Certification, E codes table (Muslim Consumer Group lineage) Checked 2026-09-12.
IFANCA, on insects in food, medicine and make up Checked 2026-09-12.
The Vegan Society, how to avoid buying non vegan products Checked 2026-09-12.