E285 is sodium tetraborate, also called borax, a sodium salt of boric acid. In the INS system it is classed as a preservative, but it is not on the permitted-additive list of Circular 24/2019/TT-BYT.
Wheat flour, vegetable oil, salt, sugar, preservative (285), dried onion and garlic, pepper, natural colour (160a).
It is sodium tetraborate, also called borax, a sodium salt of boric acid. In the INS system, code 285 belongs to the preservatives. EFSA re-evaluated boric acid (E284) and sodium tetraborate (E285) as food additives; according to EFSA in 2013, both are authorised in the EU as preservatives of sturgeon eggs (caviar).
In 2013 EFSA re-evaluated boric acid (E284) and sodium tetraborate (borax, E285) as food additives and set a group ADI of 0.16 mg boron/kg body weight a day, based on a NOAEL of 9.6 mg boron/kg bw/day from a developmental study in rats and an uncertainty factor of 60. According to EFSA, exposure to boron from use as a food additive at the highest level is 0.04 mg/kg bw/day for children and 0.01 mg/kg for adolescents, adults and the elderly. EFSA concluded that it is unlikely that a regular exceedance of the ADI occurs.
No. Sodium tetraborate (INS 285) is not listed in Appendix 1 of Circular 24/2019/TT-BYT (consolidated text 09/VBHN-BYT), the list of additives permitted in food, nor in Appendix 2B.
In its summary EFSA (2013) estimated boron intake from the use of sodium tetraborate (borax) as a food additive in children at 0.04 mg/kg body weight a day at the maximum use level, and 0.56 mg/kg body weight a day for high consumers (95th percentile, consumers only). The group ADI is 0.16 mg boron/kg body weight a day. EFSA concluded that a regular exceedance of the ADI is unlikely. The summary does not mention pregnant women separately. If you have a particular health condition, ask a doctor.
Updated 21 October 2026
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