Back to catalogSafety
E509AcidulantLow concern
Calcium Chloride
In plain words
The short version
A firming agent and calcium fortifier — used in cheesemaking, tofu, and canned vegetables.
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 not specified — considered safe at typical food levels. Excess intake can produce a salty-bitter off-taste and minor gastric irritation; large doses can cause nausea.
The detail
A by-product of the Solvay process (sodium carbonate production) and also obtained from natural brines. One of the more abundant and inexpensive calcium salts.
Added to milk before rennet coagulation to compensate for calcium lost in pasteurization (essential in modern cheesemaking, especially for mozzarella). Used as a coagulant for soft tofu. Firms vegetables in canning and pickling by cross-linking pectin in the cell wall. Used in sports drinks for electrolyte balance and in molecular-gastronomy spherification.
White crystalline powder or flakes; strongly hygroscopic. Highly soluble in water with exothermic dissolution. Hygroscopic and deliquescent in humid air.
Permitted in the EU at quantum satis as a Group I additive. In the US it is GRAS, with maximum use levels by food category, for example 0.3% in baked goods, 0.2% in cheese and 0.05% in foods not otherwise listed.
Sources
- EFSA — Re-evaluation of hydrochloric acid (E 507), potassium chloride (E 508), calcium chloride (E 509) and magnesium chloride (E 511) as food additives (EFSA Journal 2019;17(7):5751) — European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), FAF Panel, 2019. Safety: no safety concern at reported uses; no new ADI set
- WHO JECFA database — Calcium chloride (INS 509) — Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), 1973. Safety: ADI not limited (equivalent to 'not specified')
- 21 CFR 184.1193 — Calcium chloride (GRAS), eCFR — U.S. FDA / eCFR (Office of the Federal Register), 1996. Regulation: US GRAS with category maximum levels
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 1129/2011 — Union list of food additives, Annex II Part C Group I — European Commission / Official Journal of the EU (L 295, 12.11.2011), 2011. Regulation: EU Group I additive at quantum satis
Checked against these sources on .
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