10 Common Food Additives on Irish Food Labels, Explained

E numbers are used to identify approved food additives within the European system. Food additives used in the EU must be authorised and listed with conditions governing their use. Authorisation considers safety, technological need and whether the proposed use could mislead consumers.

The E number identifies the additive. It does not tell you whether the overall food is nutritionally strong or weak. For the bigger picture, see our guide to E numbers.

On an ingredients list, an additive will generally be shown using its functional class followed by its specific name or E number. For example, Preservative: sodium nitrite or Preservative: E250. The word preservative tells you what the ingredient is doing in that food. E250 tells you which additive it is. More on this in how to read an ingredients list.

E322 identifies lecithins. Lecithins can be used as emulsifiers. An emulsifier helps form or maintain a mixture of substances that do not normally mix easily, such as oil and water. That property is useful in foods where manufacturers need fats and water-based ingredients to remain evenly distributed.

You might therefore see Emulsifier: lecithins or Emulsifier: E322 on an ingredients list. "Emulsifier" is the function. "Lecithins" or "E322" identifies the additive. Read more about how emulsifiers work.

E415 is xanthan gum. It can be used to modify the texture and stability of food. You'll encounter xanthan gum in various formulated products, where relatively small amounts can affect thickness or help maintain a consistent structure.

The important point is that terms such as thickener and stabiliser describe what an ingredient is doing. They are not health classifications. Whether the product makes sense for you still depends on the full ingredients list, nutrition information and what you're comparing it with.

E621 is monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG. MSG is used as a flavour enhancer. Under EU rules, flavour enhancers are additives used to enhance the existing taste or smell of food. Glutamate itself also occurs naturally in foods.

When monosodium glutamate is deliberately used as an additive, an ingredients list may identify it as Flavour enhancer: monosodium glutamate or Flavour enhancer: E621. Its presence does not tell you the sugar, salt, saturated fat, fibre or protein content of the product. For that, you still need the rest of the label.

E250 is sodium nitrite. It is authorised for specified uses including certain cured meat products. Nitrite is an interesting example because there are genuine benefits and genuine considerations to understand.

In cured meat production, nitrite contributes to preservation and helps inhibit the growth of microorganisms including Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium associated with botulism. It also contributes to characteristics of cured meat such as colour and flavour.

At the same time, nitrite can contribute under some conditions to the formation of compounds called nitrosamines, some of which are carcinogenic. This is why the useful conclusion is neither "E250 is good" nor "E250 is bad". Its use is regulated, with permitted foods and levels specified in legislation.

E250 is a good example of why food-additive discussions need to consider function, exposure and conditions of use, rather than just the name of the ingredient.

E951 is aspartame, another intense sweetener. It can be used in authorised food categories including certain sugar-free or energy-reduced products.

For aspartame, there is also an important labelling consideration relating to phenylalanine because people with phenylketonuria, or PKU, need to restrict phenylalanine.

The current EFSA Acceptable Daily Intake for aspartame is 40 mg per kg of body weight per day. That level was reconfirmed by EFSA in September 2026 as part of its assessment of the salt of aspartame-acesulfame, E962.

Again, an ADI is about safety at long-term exposure levels. It does not mean products containing aspartame are automatically nutritious. Nor does the presence of aspartame alone establish that a product is harmful. The entire formulation still matters. More on aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame K.

The same additive can sometimes perform different technological functions depending on the food. FSAI gives ascorbic acid as an example. It can be used as an antioxidant or as a flour treatment agent depending on the application.

That's why the functional class printed before the ingredient can be useful. It tells you what role the additive is performing in that product. So don't assume an additive has exactly one purpose everywhere it appears.

Sláinte is designed to do that translation quickly. Instead of seeing E300, you can understand that you're looking at ascorbic acid. Instead of E621, you can see monosodium glutamate. Instead of E950, you can see acesulfame K.

Additives are then considered alongside the rest of the product rather than used as a standalone verdict. The live Sláinte methodology weights food scores as follows, then applies published category rules and guardrails after the calculation.