What is E473, Sucrose esters of fatty acids
It is an additive, a nonionic powder emulsifier consisting of the sucrose ester, used by the food industry in:
- Ice creams: as an emulsifier
- Baked goods: they optimize the increase in volume
- Drinks: reduce the coagulation of proteins in a warm environment.
- Dessert, Creams : stabilizer
As food additives they are included under the number E473 in the European additives list and fatty acids derived from edible fats and oils are used for their production (lauric acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, etc.) are used. Stearic acid-type products are preferentially used because of their flavor and functional characteristics (1).
In pharmaceutical products they are generally used as
- stabilisers: are substances which make it possible to maintain the physico-chemical state of a foodstuff; stabilisers include substances which enable the maintenance of a homogenous dispersion of two or more immiscible substances in a foodstuff, substances which stabilise, retain or intensify an existing colour of a foodstuff and substances which increase the binding capacity of the food, including the formation of cross-links between proteins enabling the binding of food pieces into re-constituted food;
- coating agents
In cosmetic products as
- foaming agents
- emulsifiers
Safety
The EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food provides a scientific opinion on the safety of sucrose esters of fatty acids produced by a new manufacturing method from sucrose and vinyl esters of fatty acids, and an evaluation of the extension of the use of this additive to flavoured fruit beverages. In 2004 EFSA established a group ADI of 40 mg/kg bw/day for sucrose esters of fatty acids, however this evaluation did not consider sucrose esters of lauric acid. The Panel considers that although the toxicological data on the sucrose ester of lauric acid are limited, they do not give rise to concerns since lauric acid is a natural constituent of a number of foods. The new manufacturing method results in residues of vinyl esters of fatty acids of ADI (2).
Synonyms :
- Sucrose fatty acid esters
- Sucrose, fatty acid ester
- Fatty acids, sucrose esters
- LS-186328
References__________________________________________________________
(1) Nagai Y, Kawano S, Motoda K, Tomida M, Tatebe C, Sato K, Akiyama H. Solubility Testing of Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids in International Food Additive Specifications. Biol Pharm Bull. 2017 Mar 1;40(3):284-289. doi: 10.1248/bpb.b16-00738. Epub 2016 Dec 20
(2) https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1512
E473 
