Acetylated tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides

Listed as an emulsifier by Canada and the US.

Listed as emulsifiers (CA, US) · thickeners (CA) · stabilisers (CA) · texturisers (US)

An emulsifier made by attaching both acetyl and tartaric acid groups to mono- and diglycerides, used mainly to strengthen bread dough. It is one of a family of tartaric esters that differ in how much of each group they carry.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Acetylated tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New ZealandNo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
CanadaHealth CanadaPermitted, with conditions

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

4 permitted uses

Show every permitted use
  • In: Bread. Purpose: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent. Limit: 6,000 ppm of the flour. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4), item A.4(a)
  • In: (Naming the flavour) flavour. Purpose: Emulsifying agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. Amendment notices: M-FAA-24-14. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4), item A.4(a.1)
  • In: Infant formula based on crystalline amino acids. Purpose: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent. Limit: 240 ppm in the infant formula as consumed. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4), item A.4(b)
  • In: Unstandardized foods. Purpose: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4), item A.4(c)
Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)and 3 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSANo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
Great BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards ScotlandNo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
JapanConsumer Affairs AgencyNo listing matchedThis site imports only Japan’s list of designated additives (Appended Table 1 to the Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act), matched by English name. Existing additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives are permitted outside that list and are not imported, so an empty row does not show that Japan does not permit the substance.
South KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug SafetyNo listing matchedThis site imports Part III of South Korea’s Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, matched by CAS number, then INS number, then exact name. Mixed preparations and sanitisers are not imported, and an entry whose identifiers disagreed with a page’s is held for review, so an empty row does not show that South Korea does not permit the substance.
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationNot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

How much is permitted

A listing usually limits the quantity as well as the food. Only one of the forms that takes is a figure: quantum satis and good manufacturing practice permit the amount the technological effect requires and no more, which is a limit rather than the absence of one. Figures below are the range across every food category this page is listed in, and categories differ between regulators — see how much is permitted.

Canada—2 GMP, 2 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Acetylated tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides. That is not an absence of control: where the listing says quantum satis or good manufacturing practice, the quantity is limited to what the effect requires.

What it is made from

Made by reacting mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids with tartaric acid and acetic anhydride.

Every name it appears under

1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.

Other names

  • Acetylated Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Common questions

Assembled from what is above, in the words the questions are usually asked in. Each answer is the same statement the relevant section makes, with the same citations behind it.

What is Acetylated tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides?
An emulsifier made by attaching both acetyl and tartaric acid groups to mono- and diglycerides, used mainly to strengthen bread dough. It is one of a family of tartaric esters that differ in how much of each group they carry.
What is Acetylated tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides used for in food?
It is listed as an emulsifier — the role Canada and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Where is Acetylated tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.

Sources for this page

  • ca retrieved 2026-10-17

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable: a JSON record of this additive is given on request —how to ask for access.

Follow changes to Acetylated tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.