What is Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid used for in food?

It is listed as an emulsifier — the role Codex assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.

Where is Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid permitted?

Of the seven regulators this site reads, Australia and New Zealand, the EU, Great Britain, South Korea and the Codex standard permit it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.

Is Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid vegan?

It depends on the source, and a label will not tell you. Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid can be made from plant or animal material, manufacturers are not obliged to say which, and the same product can change between production runs. Anyone who needs to know has to ask the manufacturer.

Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid

Q: What is E 442?

E 442 is Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid. These emulsifiers control how molten chocolate flows. Chocolate is a suspension of solids in fat, and getting it to coat a mould thinly without adding expensive cocoa butter is what this additive is for.

E number E442INS 442

Listed as an emulsifier by Codex.

Listed as emulsifiers (Codex)

Codex Alimentarius: Emulsifier — CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 442

These emulsifiers control how molten chocolate flows. Chocolate is a suspension of solids in fat, and getting it to coat a mould thinly without adding expensive cocoa butter is what this additive is for.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
Jurisdiction	Status	Scope and limits	Citation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New Zealand	Permitted, with conditions	54 food categories no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) Show every food category 0 Preparations of food additives — GMP 1.1.1 Liquid milk (including buttermilk) — GMPOnly UHT goats milk. 1.1.2 Liquid milk products and flavoured liquid milk — GMP 1.2.2 Fermented milk products and rennetted milk products — GMP 1.3 Condensed milk and evaporated milk — GMP 1.4.1 Cream, reduced cream and light cream — GMPOnly UHT creams and creams receiving equivalent or greater heat treatments. 1.4.2 Cream products (flavoured, whipped, thickened, sour cream etc) — GMP 1.5 Dried milk, milk powder, cream powder — GMP 1.6 Cheese and cheese products — GMP 10.2 Liquid egg products — GMP 10.3 Frozen egg products — GMP 10.4 Dried or heat coagulated egg products — GMP 11.1.1 Rainbow sugar — GMP 11.3.1 Dried honey — GMP 11.4 Tabletop sweeteners — GMP 12.1.2 Reduced sodium salt mixture — GMP 12.1.3 Salt substitute — GMP 12.5 Yeast and yeast products — GMP 12.6 Vegetable protein products — GMP 13.3 Formulated meal replacements and formulated supplementary foods — GMP 13.4 Formulated supplementary sports foods — GMP 13.5 Food for special medical purposes — GMP 14.1.1.2 Carbonated, mineralised and soda waters — GMP 14.1.2.1 Fruit and vegetable juices — GMPFor juice separated by other than mechanical means only. 14.1.2.2 Fruit and vegetable juice products — GMP 14.1.3 Water based flavoured drinks — GMP 14.1.4 Formulated Beverages — GMP 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions and similar products — GMP 14.2.3 Wine based drinks and reduced alcohol wines — GMP 14.2.4.1 Fruit wine products and vegetable wine products — GMP 14.2.5 Spirits and liqueurs — GMP 14.3 Alcoholic beverages not included in item 14.2 — GMP 2.1 Edible oils essentially free of water — GMP 2.2.1.2 Butter products — GMP 2.2.1.3 Margarine and similar products — GMP 2.2.2 Oil emulsions (<80% oil) — GMP 20 Foods not included in items 0 to 14 — GMP 3 Ice cream and edible ices — GMP 4.1.3 Fruits and vegetables that are peeled, cut, or both peeled and cut — GMP 4.3 Processed fruits and vegetables — GMP 5.1 Chocolate and cocoa products — GMP 5.2 Sugar confectionery — GMP 5.4 Icings and frostings — GMP 6.3 Processed cereal and meal products — GMP 6.4 Flour products (including noodles and pasta) — GMP 7 Breads and bakery products — GMP 8.2 Processed meat, poultry and game products in whole cuts or pieces — GMP 8.3 Processed comminuted meat, poultry and game products, other than products listed in item 8.3.2 — GMP 8.3.2 Sausage and sausage meat containing raw, unprocessed meat — GMP 8.4 Edible casings — GMP 8.5 Animal protein products — GMP 9.2 Processed fish and fish products — GMP 9.3 Semi preserved fish and fish products — GMP 9.4 Fully preserved fish including canned fish products — GMP	Food Standards Code, Schedule 15, S15—5and 53 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17
CanadaHealth Canada	No listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here.
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSA	Permitted, with conditions	3 food categories highest permitted level 10,000 mg/kg Show every food category 5.1 Cocoa and chocolate products as covered by Directive 2000/36/EC — 10,000 mg/kgML = 10000 mg/kg. 5.2 Other confectionery including breath freshening micro-sweets — 10,000 mg/kgML = 10000 mg/kg. only cocoa based confectionery. 5.4 Decorations, coatings and fillings, except fruit-based fillings covered by category 4.2.4 — 10,000 mg/kgML = 10000 mg/kg. only cocoa based confectionery.	Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex IIand 2 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-18
Great BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards Scotland	Permitted, with conditions	3 food categories highest permitted level 10,000 mg/kg or mg/l Show every food category 5.1 Cocoa and chocolate products as covered by Directive 2000/36/EC — 10,000 mg/kg or mg/lML = 10000. 5.2 Other confectionery including breath refreshening microsweets — 10,000 mg/kg or mg/lML = 10000. only cocoa-based confectionery. 5.4 Decorations, coatings and fillings, except fruit based fillings covered by category 4.2.4 — 10,000 mg/kg or mg/lML = 10000. only cocoa-based confectionery.	Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008and 2 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-18
JapanConsumer Affairs Agency	No 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 Safety	Permitted, with conditions	Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 1. … Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 1. 일반식품첨가물 (general food additives), 암모늄포스파타이드 (“Ammonium Phosphatides”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 암모늄포스파타이드: 유화제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 암모늄포스파타이드: (1) [may be used only in the foods listed; sets a limit on the amount used] “암모늄포스파타이드는 아래의 식품에 한하여 사용하여야 한다. 암모늄포스파타이드의 사용량은 1. 기타 코코아가공품, 초콜릿류 : 10g/kg 이하” The Korean is the standard as published. There is no official English translation of the current Code (the English version on MFDS’s website is the 2020 edition and has no legal effect); the English in square brackets is this site’s description of what each sentence does, not a translation of the foods or the levels. Compositional specifications (Part IV) are not imported, nor are the general standards in Part II, which apply to every additive.	Standards and Specifications for Food Additives (식품첨가물의 기준 및 규격), MFDS Notification, Part III (Standards for use, by item)retrieved 2026-10-18
United StatesFood and Drug Administration	Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFA	Permitted, with conditions	4 food categories highest permitted level 10,000 mg/kg Show every food category and its notes 01.7 Dairy-based desserts (e.g. pudding, fruit or flavoured yoghurt) — 5,000 mg/kg Note 231 For use in flavoured fermented milks and flavoured fermented milks heat treated after fermentation only. Note XS243 Excluding products conforming to the Standard for Fermented Milks (CXS 243-2003). 05.1.1 Cocoa mixes (powders) and cocoa mass/cake — 10,000 mg/kg Note 97 On the final cocoa and chocolate product basis. 05.1.4 Cocoa and chocolate products — 10,000 mg/kg Note 101 When used in combination as emulsifiers: ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid (INS 442), polyglycerol esters of interesterified ricinoleic acid (INS 476), sorbitan monostearate (INS 491), sorbitan tristearate (INS 492), and polysorbates (polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monolaurate (INS 432), polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate (INS 433), polyoxyethylene (20), sorbitan monostearate (INS 435) and polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan tristearate (INS 436)), the total combined use level shall not exceed 15,000 mg/kg. 05.1.5 Imitation chocolate, chocolate substitute products — 10,000 mg/kg	CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 442and 3 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

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.

Australia and New Zealand	—	54 GMP
European Union	10,000 mg/kg	3 numeric limit
Great Britain	10,000 mg/kg	3 numeric limit
South Korea	—	1 no quantity stated
Codex Alimentarius	5,000 mg/kg – 10,000 mg/kg	4 numeric limit

What it is made from

Made by reacting glycerides with phosphoric acid and neutralising with ammonia. The starting fat is normally rapeseed oil.

Vegan status depends on the source
Vegetarian status depends on the source
May raise a halal question
May raise a kosher question

This is not an omission. What this additive is made from is not fixed — depending on the manufacturer it may be plant, animal or microbial in origin, nobody is required to say which, and the same product can change source between production runs. Ask the manufacturer if it matters to you; a label cannot answer it.

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

The two specifications, compared

The European Union sets identity and purity by regulation; JECFA publishes its own through FAO, advisory until a country adopts it. Both documents are below in full. These are the parameters each puts a number on.

Parameter	European Union	JECFA
Assay	no less than 3 %	no less than 3 %
Lead	no more than 2 mg/kg	no more than 2 mg/kg
Arsenic	no more than 3 mg/kg	—
Mercury	no more than 1 mg/kg	—
Cadmium	no more than 1 mg/kg	—

The two documents state the same figures for every parameter compared here.

How the EU defines it

The legal specification an additive must meet to be sold as this E number in the EU — what it is, how it may be made, and the purity it must reach. From Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012.

E 442 Ammonium phosphatides

A mixture of the ammonium compounds of phosphatidic acids derived from edible fat and oil. One or two or three glyceride moieties may be attached to phosphorus. Moreover, two phosphorus esters may be linked together as phosphatidyl phosphatides

Synonyms: Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid; Mixed ammonium salts of phoshorylated glycerides

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

Assay: The phosphorus content is not less than 3 % and not more than 3,4 % by weight; the ammonium content is not less than 1,2 % and not more than 1,5 % (calculated as N)
Description: Unctuous semi-solid to oily liquid

Identification

Solubility: Soluble in fats. Insoluble in water. Partially soluble in ethanol and in acetone
Test for glycerol: Passes test
Test fatty acids: Passes test
Test for phosphate: Passes test

Purity criteria

Petroleum ether insoluble matter: Not more than 2,5 %
Arsenic: Not more than 3 mg/kg
Lead: Not more than 2 mg/kg
Mercury: Not more than 1 mg/kg
Cadmium: Not more than 1 mg/kg

Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, Annex, E 442

How JECFA defines it

The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.

INS 442 Ammonium Salts of Phosphatidic Acid

The product consists essentially of a mixture of the ammonium compounds of phosphatidic acids derived from the edible fat (usually partially hardened rapeseed oil). A mono- or diglyceride moiety may be attached to phosphorus. Moreover, two phosphorus esters may be linked together as phosphatidyl phosphatides. The product is prepared by glycerolysis of the fat, followed by phosphorylation with phosphorus pentoxide, and neutralization with ammonia. The article of commerce may be further specified as to water content, hexane-insoluble matter, inorganic hexane-insoluble matter, pH value and triglyceride content.

Synonyms: Ammonium phosphatides, Emulsifier YN, Mixed ammonium salts of phosphorylated glycerides; INS No. 442 Ammonium phosphatides; Emulsifier YN; Mixed ammonium salts of phosphorylated glycerides

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

Specification history: Prepared at the 55th JECFA (2000) and published in FNP 52 Add 8 (2000), superseding tentative specifications prepared at the 17th JECFA (1973) and published in FNP 4 (1978) and in FNP 52 (1992). An ADI of 0-30 mg/kg bw was established at the 18th JECFA (1974).
Structural formula (approximate composition): where R may be a mono- or di-glyceride moiety
Assay: The phosphorus content is not less than 3.0% and not more than 3.4% by weight; the ammonium N content is not less than 1.2% and not more than 1.5%.
DESCRIPTION: Unctuous semisolid
FUNCTIONAL USES: Emulsifier

Identification

Solubility (Vol. 4): Insoluble in water, partially soluble in ethanol and in acetone, soluble in fats
Test for phosphate: Passes tests See description under TESTS
Test for fatty acid: Passes tests See description under TESTS
Test for glycerol (Vol. 4): Passes test
Test: Test for phosphate: Ignite 1 g of the sample with 2 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate. Cool and dissolve the residue in 5 ml of water and 5 ml of nitric acid. Add 5 ml of ammonium molybdate TS and heat to boiling. A yellow precipitate is obtained.
Test: Test for fatty acid: Reflux 1 g of the product for 1 h with 25 ml of 0.5 N ethanolic potassium fatty acid hydroxide. Ammonia is evolved from the end of the reflux condenser, recognizable by its odour and by its reaction on moist, red litmus paper. On cooling the residue to 0 o , a precipitate of potassium soap is obtained.
Test: METHOD OF ASSAY Determination of phosphorus: Absorption spectrophotometry Reagents and working solutions Sulfuric acid: sp gr 1.84 Nitric acid: sp gr 1.42 Perchloric acid: 60%, sp gr 1.54 Vanadate-molybdate solution : Separately dissolve in water 20 g of ammonium molybdate and 1 g of ammonium vanadate. Mix the two solutions, add 140 ml of concentrated nitric acid and dilute to 1000 ml with water. Mix well. Standard phosphate solution : Stock solution: Dissolve 3.8346 g of potassium dihydrogen phosphate, previously dried at 110º, in water and dilute to 1000 ml; 1 ml of this solution = 2.0 mg P 2 O 5 . Standard phosphate working solution : Transfer 50.0 ml of the standard phosphate solution (1ml = 2.0 mg P 2 O 5 ) to a 500 ml volumetric flask and dilute to volume with water and mix well. 1 ml of standard phosphate working solution = 0.2 mg equivalents of P 2 O 5 Procedure Weigh accurately 1.5 to 1.6 g of a representative sample into a small glass capsule and transfer to a 300-ml Kjeldahl flask containing 5 ml of sulfuric acid and 10 ml of nitric acid. Heat the flask, gently at first, with continual swirling, and later more strongly over a bare flame. Add further measured amounts of nitric acid from time to time, cooling the flask prior to addition, and continue the heating until the stage where the digest is clear and assumes a golden colour. Cool, add 5 ml of 60% perchloric acid and continue the oxidation until white acid fumes form in the flask. Cool again and add 5 ml of water and continue heating until white fumes are again driven off. Cool, dilute carefully with water, cool again and transfer quantitatively to a 500-ml volumetric flask. Dilute to volume with water and mix well (Test solution). Carry out a blank digestion exactly as above but omit the sample and use the same volume of acid as required to wet oxidize the sample (Blank digest solution). Into separate 100-ml volumetric flasks, add by burette: (a) 25.0 ml of Standard phosphate working solution (= 5.0 mg P 2 O 5 ), (b) 30.0 ml of Standard phosphate working solution (= 6.0 mg P 2 O 5 ), (c) a 25 ml aliquot of the test solution which will contain the equivalent of between 5 and 6 mg P 2 O 5 Into each of the flasks containing the phosphorus standards, i.e. (a) and (b), transfer an aliquot of the blank digest solution equal in volume to (c), in order to compensate for possible traces of phosphorus derived from the acid digest reagents and which may be present in the Test Solution. To each add 25 ml of the vanadate-molybdate reagent, mix, dilute to nearly 100 ml with water, mix well, adjust the temperature of the solution to 20º, dilute to the mark with water and re-mix. After 10 min measure the absorbance of both the 6 mg P 2 O 5 solution and the test solution against the 5 mg standard contained in the blank cell. Use optically matched 1 cm cells and measure at a wavelength of 420 nm, or with an Ilford 604 filter if using a photo-electric colorimeter. Calculation where A test = absorbance difference between the 5 mg standard and the test solution A 6 mg = absorbance difference between the 6 mg and 5 mg standards W = weight of sample taken (g)
Test: Determination of ammonium nitrogen: Apparatus for steam distillation The apparatus consists of a 2-L flask fitted with a rubber bung through which pass an approximately 3" length of glass tubing, arranged so that the lower end is near the bottom of the flask, and a shorter L-shaped piece of tubing arranged such that the tube projects about 1/4" below the lower surface of the bung, to act as a steam outlet tube. The flask should be approximately 2/3 filled with distilled water made slightly acid with dilute sulfuric acid TS and contain a few pieces of sintered glass to prevent bumping when the contents of the flask are vigorously boiled to act as a steam generator. A tap funnel may be fitted to the flask if desired to facilitate replenishing the water in the flask between determinations. The steam outlet tube is connected via a condensation trap to the inlet of a steam distillation head, fitted to a short necked 1-L round bottomed B34 necked flask. The distillation head should be such that the steam inlet tube reaches almost to the bottom of the 1-L flask and the outlet should be fitted with two splash traps, one near the top of the 1-L flask and the other near the top of B19 jointed verticle, single-surface condenser to which the distillation head connects. The vertical condenser should be fitted with an extended outlet tube, able to reach to the bottom of a 500-ml conical flask. Reagents Boric acid solution (2% w/v in water) Sodium hydroxide solution (40 w/v in water) 0.02N Hydrochloric acid Mixed indicator: Mix 5.0 of 0.1% w/v alcoholic solution of bromocresol green and 2.0 of a 0.1% w/v alcoholic solution of methyl red and dilute the mixture to 30 ml with 95% alcohol. Silicone fluid 200/50 MS Procedure Assemble and thoroughly steam out the apparatus. Accurately weigh about 0.2 g of a representative sample of neutral Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acids into a small glass phial (approx. 3/4" diameter, 1/2" deep). Transfer the phial and weighed contents to the distillation flask and add approximately 250 ml distilled water. Connect the distillation head and splash traps to the distillation flask and vertical condenser, and arrange the condenser such that the outlet dips below the surface of 10 ml of 2% boric acid and 1 ml mixed indicator contained in a 500-ml conical flask. Add to the distillation flask, via a funnel attached by means of a short piece of rubber tubing to the steam inlet tube, 75 ml 40% aqueous sodium hydroxide, and wash in with distilled water. Detach the funnel and connect the steam inlet to the steam supply. (Alternatively, the sodium hydroxide may be added to the flask through a tap funnel, fitted to the distillation flask if preferred and washed in with distilled water. If so a liquid seal should be maintained in the funnel during the addition and distillation). Vigorously steam distil the contents of the distillation flask and collect 200 ml distillate in the boric acid. During the distillation gently agitate the distillation flask if necessary, to avoid the sample being deposited around the upper surfaces of the flask. When the required amount of distillate has been collected, lower the receiving flask, stop the steam supply, and wash down the inside of the condenser, and the outside of the lower end, with a small quantity of distilled water, collecting the washings in the receiving flask. Titrate the contents of the receiving flask with 0.02N hydrochloric acid. Carry out at least one blank determination in exactly the same way but omitting the sample. During the distillation difficulty may be experienced with frothing of the contents of the distillation flask. If so, 2 drops of silicone fluid should be added to the distillation flask at the time of adding the sample; and a similar amount included in the blank determination. Calculation 1 ml of 0.02 N HCl = 0.2802 mg of nitrogen.

Purity criteria

Lead (Vol. 4): Not more than 2 mg/kg Determine using an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the method described in Volume 4, “Instrumental Methods.”

FAO JECFA Monograph 1 (2006)

Authorised in other additives, enzymes, flavourings and nutrients

These authorisations are not for use in food. They let this substance be used inside another additive, a food enzyme, a flavouring or a nutrient preparation — often as a carrier — and it reaches food only as part of that product. Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008.

Part	May be used in	Maximum level	Citation
Annex III, Part 1: Carriers in food additives	Antioxidants	quantum satis	Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex III, Part 1

Every name it appears under

31 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

E number

E442

INS number

As it appears in regulation

Ammonium phosphatides

Other names

AMMONIUM SALTS OF PHOSPHATIDIC ACID

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
Type	Value	Population	Assessed by	Opinion
ADI	30 mg/kg bw/day	—	JECFA	1974

Evidence and how bodies read it

What assessing bodies concluded

Each conclusion is paraphrased in the body's own framing, from the published opinion linked beneath it. Where bodies differ, both stand; this site does not adjudicate between them or add a view of its own.

EFSA 2016
The ANS Panel found no genotoxicity concern for ammonium phosphatides (E 442) and saw no reason to revise the ADI of 30 mg/kg bw/day. As the ADI was not exceeded in any population group, it concluded that use at permitted or reported levels would not be of safety concern.
Source document

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 E 442?: E 442 is Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid. These emulsifiers control how molten chocolate flows. Chocolate is a suspension of solids in fat, and getting it to coat a mould thinly without adding expensive cocoa butter is what this additive is for.
What is Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid used for in food?: It is listed as an emulsifier — the role Codex assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Where is Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid permitted?: Of the seven regulators this site reads, Australia and New Zealand, the EU, Great Britain, South Korea and the Codex standard permit it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
Is Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid vegan?: It depends on the source, and a label will not tell you. Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid can be made from plant or animal material, manufacturers are not obliged to say which, and the same product can change between production runs. Anyone who needs to know has to ask the manufacturer.

Sources for this page

anz retrieved 2026-10-17
eu retrieved 2026-10-18
gb retrieved 2026-10-18
kr retrieved 2026-10-18
gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07
euspecs retrieved 2026-10-18
jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23

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 Ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.