E555Potassium aluminium silicate

E555 is potassium aluminium silicate (kali nhôm silicat), a food additive printed on labels as E555 or INS 555. This page has no sourced data on what the substance does in food.

Did you know? According to the business operators cited by EFSA (2020), potassium aluminium silicate is used only to make potassium aluminium silicate-based pearlescent pigments. In the Mintel database, 146 of the 151 products labelled with E555 were also labelled with E172 or E171.

Code: E555 · INS 555
Group: Anticaking agent

In Vietnam✕ Not permitted in VietnamNot on Vietnam's list of permitted additives (Circular 24/2019); it may be used only in a product whose declaration is registered with the Vietnam Food Administration

Risk level on the Yenzo Scalehigh?Because it is not permitted in Vietnam; by the scientific evaluations alone: moderate

EFSA (2008) found that intake in some population groups can exceed the tolerable weekly intake (TWI); the EU therefore cut the maximum use levels and removed some of these additives (Regulation (EU) 380/2012). This is what puts it at the middle level of the Yenzo Scale.

How E555 appears on labels

IngredientsIllustrative example

Wheat flour, vegetable oil, salt, sugar, anticaking agent (555), dried onion and garlic, pepper, natural colour (160a).

anticaking agent (555)anticaking agent 555E555INS 555

Questions about potassium aluminium silicate

What is E555 (potassium aluminium silicate)?

E555 is potassium aluminium silicate (kali nhôm silicat). Yenzo has no source stating its function in food, so this page does not describe one.

Is potassium aluminium silicate harmful?

In 2020 EFSA concluded that the safety of potassium aluminium silicate (E555) and sodium aluminium silicate (E554) could not be assessed, because only very limited data on their effects and insufficient information on their physical and chemical characterisation were available. EFSA calculated that if E555 were used at the maximum permitted level as a carrier for E171 or E172, the aluminium intake could in theory reach 388 or 297 mg/kg body weight a week, far above the TWI for aluminium of 1 mg/kg body weight a week.

Other anticaking agents

E552Calcium silicatelow E553Magnesium silicates or talc (type not printed)low E553aMagnesium silicateslow E553bTalclow E554Sodium aluminium silicatemoderate E556Calcium aluminium silicatehigh

See all anticaking agents →

Updated 21 October 2026

How Yenzo scores

Sources (4)

Information only, not medical advice. The risk level is the additive's class in Yenzo's open scoring method, based on the cited source.