Anionic methacrylate copolymer
E1207 · Anionic methacrylate copolymer · Anijoninis metakrilato kopolimeras · Anionic methacrylate copolymer · Anioninen metakrylaattikopolymeeri · Anionisch methacrylaatcopolymeer · Anionisches Methacrylat-Copolymer · Anionisk methacrylat-copolymer · Anionos metakrilát-kopolimer · Anionowy kopolimer metakrylanu · Anionski kopolimer metakrilata · Aniontový kopolymer methakrylátu · Anioonne metakrülaatkopolümeer · Aniónový kopolymér metakrylátu · Anjonais metakrilāta kopolimērs · Anjonisk metakrylatsampolymer · Copolimer metacrilat anionic · Copolimero di metacrilato anionico · Copolymère de méthacrylate anionique · COPOLÍMERO METACRILATO ANIÓNICO · Copolímero de metacrilato aniónico · Koplimeru tal-metakrilat anjoniku · KOPOLIMERU TAL-METAKRILAT ANJONIKU · ΑΝΙΟΝΙΚΟ ΜΕΘΑΚΡΥΛΙΚΟ ΠΟΛΥΜΕΡΕΣ · Ανιονικό μεθακρυλικό συμπολυμερές · Анионен метакрилат кополимерE number E1207
Anionic methacrylate copolymer is a coating for solid food supplements that resists stomach acid and dissolves further along the gut. It is used where a supplement's contents would otherwise break down in the stomach.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | No 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. | ||
| 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 Union | Permitted, with conditions | 1 food category highest permitted level 100,000 mg/kg ML = 100000 mg/kg. except food supplements in chewable form. | Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II, as amended by (EU) No 2018/1497retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| Great Britain | Permitted, with conditions | 1 food category highest permitted level 100,000 mg/kg or mg/l ML = 100000. except food supplements in chewable form. | Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II (as at 28 June 2024)retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| Japan | 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 Korea | No 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 States | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. | ||
| Codex Alimentarius | Not 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.
| European Union | 100,000 mg/kg | 1 numeric limit |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 100,000 mg/kg | 1 numeric limit |
What it is made from
Produced by copolymerising methacrylic acid with methacrylate esters. The acid groups keep the film intact at low pH and let it dissolve as pH rises.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
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 1207 Anionic methacrylate copolymer
Anionic methacrylate copolymer is a fully polymerised copolymer of methacrylic acid, methyl methacrylate and methyl acrylate. It is manufactured in aqueous medium by emulsion polymerisation of methyl methacrylate, methyl acrylate and methacrylic acid using a free radical initiator stabilised with sodium lauryl sulphate and polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate (polysorbate 80). Residual monomers are removed by means of water vapour distillation.
Synonyms: Methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid polymer; Methacrylic acid, polymer with methyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- CAS No
- 26936-24-3
- Chemical name
- Poly (methyl acrylate-co-methylmethacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) 7:3:1
- Chemical formula
- Poly[(CH₂:CHCO₂CH₃)-co-(CH₂:C(CH₃)CO₂CH₃)-co-(CH₂:C(CH₃)COOH)]
- Weight average molecular weight
- Approximately 280 000 g/mol
- Assay/Residue on evaporation
- 28,5–31,5 % 1 g of the dispersion is dried in an oven for 5 hours at 110 °C. 9,2–12,3 % methacrylic acid units on dry substance.
- Description
- Milky-white dispersion (the commercial form is a 30 % dispersion of the dry substance in water) of low viscosity with a faint characteristic odour.
Identification
- Infrared absorption spectroscopy
- Characteristic of the compound
- Viscosity
- Max. 20 mPa.s, 30 rpm/20 °C (Brookfield viscosimetry)
- pH-value
- 2,0–3,5
- Relative density (at 20 °C)
- 1,058–1,068
- Solubility
- The dispersion is miscible with water in any proportion. The polymer and the dispersion are freely soluble in acetone, ethanol and isopropyl alcohol. Soluble when mixed with 1 N sodium hydroxide in a ratio of 1:2. Soluble above pH 7,0.
Purity criteria
- Acid value
- 60–80 mg KOH/g of dried substance
- Sulphated ash
- Not more than 0,2 % in the dispersion
- Residual monomers
- Total of monomers (sum of methacrylic acid, methyl methacrylate and methyl acrylate): not more than 100 mg/kg in the dispersion
- Residual emulsifiers
- Sodium lauryl sulphate not more than 0,3 % on the dry substance Polysorbate 80 not more than 1,2 % on the dry substance
- Solvent residues
- Methanol not more than 0,1 % in the dispersion
- Arsenic
- Not more than 0,3 mg/kg in the dispersion
- Lead
- Not more than 0,9 mg/kg in the dispersion
- Mercury
- Not more than 0,03 mg/kg in the dispersion
- Cadmium
- Not more than 0,3 mg/kg in the dispersion
Every name it appears under
26 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
E number
- E1207
As it appears in regulation
- Anionic methacrylate copolymer
Hazard reference values
| Type | Value | Population | Assessed by | Opinion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADI | withdrawn | — | JECFA | 2023 |
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 E 1207?
- E 1207 is Anionic methacrylate copolymer. Anionic methacrylate copolymer is a coating for solid food supplements that resists stomach acid and dissolves further along the gut. It is used where a supplement's contents would otherwise break down in the stomach.
- Where is Anionic methacrylate copolymer permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, the EU and Great Britain 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 Anionic methacrylate copolymer vegan?
- Yes. Anionic methacrylate copolymer is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- eu retrieved 2026-10-18
- gb retrieved 2026-10-18
- euspecs retrieved 2026-10-18
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