A gelling agent is a substance that gives a food its texture through formation of a gel. On labels, this group is usually written as “gelling agent (440)”, or by the E or INS code of the substance.
Vietnam regulates additives through a list of permitted additives (Circular 24/2019/TT-BYT, referencing international Codex standards); a substance not on the list is not permitted in Vietnam, and that is the first tier of the Yenzo Scale — see how levels are set.
Very low risk: no concern at the levels used in food. How we score →
Fun fact. Pectin is one of the main constituents of citrus fruits, apple and mango, and has good gelling properties. It can be extracted from many food industry by-products, such as fruit and vegetable pomaces. Henri Braconnot first isolated pectin in 1825, although the action of pectin in making jams was well known. Pectins are classified by their degree of esterification (DE) as low methoxyl (LM, DE below 50%) or high methoxyl (HM, DE above 50%), each having different properties. Source: The Use of Chitosan, Alginate, and Pectin in the Biomedical and Food Sector—Biocompatibility, Bioadhesiveness, and Biodegradability (Polymers, 2019)
Gelling agents are used in foods that need to set or have a gel-like texture. Each code in this group has its own page with the functions given in Circular 24/2019/TT-BYT; for example agar (E406), carrageenan (E407), gellan gum (E418) and pectin (E440) are all listed with the function gelling agent.
Labels usually write the group name followed by the INS number in brackets, for example “gelling agent (440)”, or the code E440, or the name of the substance (pectin). A substance may be written in any of these ways.
Yenzo does not rank additives. Some codes of this group that have a page on Yenzo: E406 (agar), E407 (carrageenan), E418 (gellan gum), E440 (pectin), E466 (sodium carboxymethyl cellulose). All of them are named in Appendix 1 of Circular 24/2019/TT-BYT.
Are there gelling agents in your product?
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