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E431EmulsifierLow concern
Polyoxyethylene 40 Stearate
In plain words
The short version
A 40-EO PEG-stearate — a higher-HLB ethoxylated emulsifier for clear-aqueous applications.
Why it's green
It's widely considered safe at the amounts used in food, so we mark it green. The Safety section below has the details.
Safety profile
ADI of 0–25 mg/kg body weight (combined polyoxyethylene-stearate emulsifiers). Hydrolyzed in digestion to fatty acids and PEG fragments — PEG fragments largely excreted unchanged.
The detail
Manufactured by ethoxylating stearic acid with 40 ethylene-oxide units. The longer EO chain gives higher water solubility than the 8-EO form (E430).
Used in beverage emulsions, supplements, and pharmaceutical creams where high water solubility and o/w emulsion stabilization matter. Less common than the polysorbates in food but specifically chosen for clear-aqueous applications.
Cream-colored to white waxy solid. Soluble in water (more soluble than E430 because of the longer EO chain).
Permitted in the US and most non-EU jurisdictions. In the EU, E 431 is on the Union list of food additives, but the current consolidated Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 lists no food category in which it may be used.
Sources
- JECFA database — Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate (INS 431), evaluation 1973 (17th meeting) — WHO / Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, 1973. Safety: ADI 0–25 mg/kg bw as total of polyoxyethylene (8) and (40) stearates
- 21 CFR 173.340 — Defoaming agents — eCFR / US FDA, 2026. US status: permitted as a component of defoaming agents used in food processing
- Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives — consolidated text of 18.08.2026 (Annex II) — EUR-Lex / European Union, 2026. EU status: E 431 is in the Part B list but appears nowhere else in Annex II (no food-category uses)
Checked against these sources on .
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