Candelilla wax

E number E902INS 902CAS 8006-44-8

Used as an emulsifier — Codex also lists it as carrier, glazing agent, thickener.

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

Status of Candelilla wax by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 184.1976retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

12 food categories

highest permitted level 200 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 04.1.1.2 Surface-treated fresh fruit — GMP
  • 04.2.1.2 Surface-treated fresh vegetables, (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds and nuts and seeds — GMP
  • 05.1.4 Cocoa and chocolate products — GMP
  • 05.1.5 Imitation chocolate, chocolate substitute products — GMP
  • 05.2 Confectionery including hard and soft candy, nougats, etc. other than food categories 05.1, 05.3, and 05.4 — GMP
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — GMP
  • 05.4 Decorations (e.g. for fine bakery wares), toppings (non-fruit), and sweet sauces — GMP
  • 07.2 Fine bakery wares (sweet, salty, savoury) and mixes — GMP
  • 13.6 Food supplements — GMP
  • 14.1.4 Water-based flavoured drinks, including "sport," “energy,” or "electrolyte" drinks and particulated drinks — 200 mg/kg
  • 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions, and other hot cereal and grain beverages, excluding cocoa — GMP
  • 15.0 Ready-to-eat savouries — GMP
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 902and 11 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

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
CAS registry number
8006-44-8

Every name it appears under

6 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

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 by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • ecfr retrieved 2026-09-07
  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07

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

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/candelilla-wax.json