Candelilla wax
8006-44-8 · Candelilla wax · E 902 · E902 · 902 · Candelilla wax · Candelilla wax · Candelillavoks · Candelillawachs · Candelillawas · Ceară de candelilla · Cera candelilla · Cera de candelilha · Cera di candelilla · Cire de candelilla · Kandelila vaškas · Kandelila vosak · Kandelillavaha · Kandelillavax · Kandelillaviasz · kandelilni vosek · Kandelilový vosk · Kandelilvasks · Vosk kandelila · Wosk candelilla · Xama' tal-kandelilla · Κανδελιλλικός κηρός · Канделилов восъкE number E902INS 902CAS 8006-44-8
Listed as a glazing agent by Canada, Codex and the US.
Listed as glazing and surface-finishing agents (CA, US, Codex) · emulsifiers (Codex) · thickeners (Codex) · flavouring agents and adjuvants (US) · carriers (Codex) · lubricants and release agents (US) · processing aids (US)
- Canada: Glazing agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Glazing Agents (List 7)
- United States: Surface-finishing agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: CANDELILLA WAX (WAX FROM STEMS AND BRANCHES OF EUPHORBIA CERIFERA)
- United States: Surface-finishing agents — 21 CFR 184.1976, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(30)
- Codex Alimentarius: Glazing agent — CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 902
- Codex Alimentarius: Emulsifier — CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 902
- Codex Alimentarius: Thickener — CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 902
- United States: Flavoring agent or adjuvant — FDA, Substances Added to Food: CANDELILLA WAX (WAX FROM STEMS AND BRANCHES OF EUPHORBIA CERIFERA)
- Codex Alimentarius: Carrier — CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 902
- United States: Lubricant or release agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: CANDELILLA WAX (WAX FROM STEMS AND BRANCHES OF EUPHORBIA CERIFERA)
- United States: Lubricants and release agents — 21 CFR 184.1976, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(18)
- United States: Processing aid — FDA, Substances Added to Food: CANDELILLA WAX (WAX FROM STEMS AND BRANCHES OF EUPHORBIA CERIFERA)
Candelilla wax is a plant wax used as a glazing agent in chewing gum, confectionery and coatings, and often as the vegan alternative to beeswax.
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 | Permitted, with conditions | highest permitted level 4,000 mg/kg In: Unstandardized confectionery. Purpose: Glazing agent. Limit: 4,000 ppm. | Health Canada, List of Permitted Glazing Agents (List 7), item C.1retrieved 2026-10-17 |
| European Union | Permitted, with conditions | 10 food categories Show every food category
| Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex IIand 9 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-18 |
| Great Britain | Permitted, with conditions | 10 food categories Show every food category
| Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008and 9 further provisionsretrieved 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 | 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), 칸델릴라왁스 (“Candelilla Wax”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 칸델릴라왁스: 유화제, 피막제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 칸델릴라왁스: (1) [to be used under the general standard for use in II. 2. 1), the minimum amount that achieves the technical effect, with no limit set for this additive in particular] “II. 2. 1)의 규정에 따라 사용하여야 한다.” 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 States | Permitted | 21 CFR 184.1976retrieved 2026-10-17 | |
| Codex Alimentarius | Permitted, with conditions | 12 food categories highest permitted level 200 mg/kg Show every food category and its notes
| CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 902and 11 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.
| Canada | 4,000 mg/kg | 1 numeric limit |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | — | 10 quantum satis |
| Great Britain | — | 10 quantum satis |
| South Korea | — | 1 no quantity stated |
| United States | — | 1 no quantity stated |
| Codex Alimentarius | 200 mg/kg | 1 numeric limit, 11 GMP |
What it is made from
Extracted by boiling the stems of the candelilla shrub, Euphorbia cerifera, of northern Mexico, in acidified water and skimming the wax.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 8006-44-8
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | — |
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 902 Candelilla wax
Candelilla wax is a purified wax obtained from the leaves of the candelilla plant, Euphorbia antisyphilitica
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Einecs
- 232-347-0
- Description
- Hard, yellowish brown, opaque to translucent wax
Identification
- Specific gravity
- About 0,98
- Melting range
- Between 68,5 °C and 72,5 °C
- Solubility
- Insoluble in water, soluble in chloroform and toluene
Purity criteria
- Acid value
- Not less than 12 and not more than 22
- Saponification value
- Not less than 43 and not more than 65
- Arsenic
- Not more than 3 mg/kg
- Lead
- Not more than 2 mg/kg
- Mercury
- Not more than 1 mg/kg
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 902 Candelilla Wax
Crude candelilla wax is obtained by first boiling the dried stalks of the candelilla plant ( Euphorbia antisyphilitica ) in water acidified with sulfuric acid to release the wax. The molten wax is then skimmed off and allowed to solidify and refined by further treatment with sulfuric acid and subsequent passage through filter-presses. Candelilla wax consists primarily of odd-numbered n-alkanes (C 29 to C 33 ) , together with esters of acids and alcohols with even-numbered carbon chains (C 28 to C 34 ). Free acids, free alcohols, sterols, neutral resins, and mineral matter are also present.
Synonyms: INS no. 902
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Specification history
- Revised specifications prepared at the 65 th JECFA (2005) and published in FNP 52 Add 13 (2005), superseding specifications prepared at the 39 th JECFA (1992) and published in FNP 52 Add 1 (1992), and incorporating the decisions on the metals and arsenic specifications agreed at the 63 rd JECFA (2004) and published in FNP 52 Add 12 (2004). The 65 th JECFA (2005) considered the additive to be of no toxicological concern for the functional uses listed.
- C.A.S. number
- 8006-44-8
- DESCRIPTION
- Yellowish-brown hard, brittle, lustrous solid with an aromatic odour when heated
- FUNCTIONAL USES
- Glazing agent, texturizer for chewing gum base, surface-finishing agent, carrier for food additives (including flavours and colours), clouding agent
Identification
- Solubility (Vol. 4)
- Insoluble in water; soluble in toluene
- Infrared absorption
- The infrared spectrum of the sample, melted and prepared for analysis on a potassium bromide plate, corresponds to that of a candelilla wax standard (see Appendix).
Purity criteria
- Melting range (Vol. 4)
- 68.5 o - 72.5 o
- Acid value (Vol. 4)
- Between 12 and 22
- Saponification value (Vol. 4)
- Between 43 and 65
- 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 methods described in Volume 4, “Instrumental Methods”.
Every name it appears under
28 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
E number
- E902
INS number
- 902
CAS registry number
- 8006-44-8
As it appears in regulation
- Candelilla wax
Other names
- Candelilla wax
- E 902
The EU re-evaluation programme
Every additive authorised in the EU before 20 January 2009 was put back through EFSA by Commission Regulation (EU) No 257/2010, and this one is named in it. What the Regulation required is below; whether the opinion has since been published is not something this site records.
- To be evaluated by 31 December 2018. Named in Annex II, Part II, point 4 as “Candellila wax”, among the additives given priority within its class.
Hazard reference values
| Type | Value | Population | Assessed by | Opinion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADI | not specified | — | JECFA | 2005 |
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 2012
The ANS Panel considered that candelilla wax (E 902) is not genotoxic but did not establish an ADI because long-term toxicity data were lacking. Noting sufficient margins of safety, it concluded that use as a food additive at the currently authorised uses would not be of safety concern.
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 902?
- E 902 is Candelilla wax. Candelilla wax is a plant wax used as a glazing agent in chewing gum, confectionery and coatings, and often as the vegan alternative to beeswax.
- What is Candelilla wax used for in food?
- It is listed as a glazing agent — the role Canada, Codex and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Where is Candelilla wax permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada, the EU, Great Britain, South Korea, the US 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 Candelilla wax vegan?
- Yes. Candelilla wax is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- ca retrieved 2026-10-17
- eu retrieved 2026-10-18
- gb retrieved 2026-10-18
- kr retrieved 2026-10-18
- ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17
- 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.
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