Cassia gum

E number E427INS 427CAS 51434-18-5

Listed as an emulsifier, a gelling agent and a thickener by Codex.

Listed as emulsifiers (Codex) · gelling agents (Codex) · thickeners (Codex) · stabilisers (Codex) · humectants (Codex)
Chemical structure of Cassia gum, from PubChem compound 172642670
Structure from PubChem CID 172642670 (National Library of Medicine, public domain). A depiction of one compound: where a listing covers a family, or a substance has no single structure, this page shows none.

Cassia gum is a thickener from the seed of a legume, used in dairy products, frozen desserts and meat products, often blended with other gums.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Cassia gum 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 CanadaNo 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 / EFSAPermitted, with conditions

8 food categories

highest permitted level 2,500 mg/l

Show every food category
  • 1.4 flavoured fermented milk products including heat-treated products — 2,500 mg/lML = 2500 mg/l.
  • 1.7.5 processed cheese — 2,500 mg/kgML = 2500 mg/kg.
  • 12.5 Soups and broths — 2,500 mg/kgML = 2500 mg/kg. only dehydrated soups and broths.
  • 12.6 Sauces — 2,500 mg/kgML = 2500 mg/kg.
  • 16 Desserts excluding products covered in category 1 3 and 4 — 2,500 mg/kgML = 2500 mg/kg. only for dairy-based dessert and similar products.
  • 3 edible ices — 2,500 mg/kgML = 2500 mg/kg.
  • 5.4 Decorations, coatings and fillings, except fruit-based fillings covered by category 4.2.4 — 2,500 mg/kgML = 2500 mg/kg. only fillings toppings and coatings for fine bakery wares and dessert.
  • 8.3.2 Heat-treated meat products — 1,500 mg/kgML = 1500 mg/kg.
Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex IIand 7 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-18
Great BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards ScotlandPermitted, with conditions

8 food categories

highest permitted level 2,500 mg/kg or mg/l

Show every food category
  • 1.4 Flavoured fermented milk products including heat-treated products — 2,500 mg/kg or mg/lML = 2500.
  • 1.7.5 Processed cheese — 2,500 mg/kg or mg/lML = 2500.
  • 12.5 Soups and broths — 2,500 mg/kg or mg/lML = 2500. only dehydrated soups and broths.
  • 12.6 Sauces — 2,500 mg/kg or mg/lML = 2500.
  • 16 Desserts excluding products covered in categories 1, 3 and 4 — 2,500 mg/kg or mg/lML = 2500. only for dairy-based dessert and similar products.
  • 3 Edible ices — 2,500 mg/kg or mg/lML = 2500.
  • 5.4 Decorations, coatings and fillings, except fruit based fillings covered by category 4.2.4 — 2,500 mg/kg or mg/lML = 2500. only fillings toppings and coatings for fine bakery wares and dessert.
  • 8.3.2 Heat-treated meat products — 1,500 mg/kg or mg/lML = 1500.
Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008and 7 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-18
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 / JECFAPermitted

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 427retrieved 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.

European Union1,500 mg/kg – 2,500 mg/kg8 numeric limit
Great Britain1,500 mg/kg – 2,500 mg/kg8 numeric limit
Codex Alimentarius—1 GMP

GRAS notices to the FDA

A GRAS notice is a company’s conclusion that a substance is generally recognised as safe for the use it describes. FDA’s letter responds to that conclusion, for that notifier and that use. It is not a listing in 21 CFR, and it is not counted as a US permission above. The substance and use are as FDA’s inventory words them; this site matched the notice to this page by exact name.

  • GRN No. 139 · Cassia gum · Noveon, Inc.

    Intended use: Use as a thickening agent, texturizer, and water retention aid in cheese-creme filling in pastries and other cheese-creme desserts, dry soup mixes, oil-free salad dressings, and meat and poultry products at a maximum level of 5,000 parts per million

    FDA’s response (2004-05-03): At the notifier's request, FDA ceased to evaluate this notice

What it is made from

Milled from the endosperm of Cassia tora and Cassia obtusifolia seeds, then purified to remove anthraquinones present in the raw seed.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number
51434-18-5
InChIKey
CXBAVTHBIGINMP-PCLGQWBCSA-N
PubChem
CID 172642670

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 427 Cassia gum

Cassia gum is the ground purified endosperm of the seeds of Cassia tora and Cassia obtusifoli (Leguminosae) containing less than 0,05 % of Cassia occidentalis. It consists mainly of high molecular weight polysaccharides composed primarily of a linear chain of 1,4-β-D-mannopyranose units linked with 1,6-α-D-galactopyranose units. The ratio of mannose to galactose is about 5:1. In the manufacture the seeds are dehusked and degermed by thermal mechanical treatment followed by milling and screening of the endosperm. The ground endosperm is further purified by extraction with propan-2-ol.

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

Assay
Not less than 75 % of Galactomannan
Description
Pale yellow to off-white, odourless powder

Identification

Solubility
Insoluble in ethanol. Disperses well in cold water forming a colloidal solution.
Gel formation with borate
To an aqueous dispersion of the sample add sufficient sodium borate test solution (TS) to raise the pH to above 9; a gel is formed.
Gel formation with xanthan gum
Weigh 1,5 g of the sample and 1,5 g of xanthan gum and blend them. Add this blend (with rapid stirring) into 300 ml water at 80 °C in a 400 ml beaker. Stir until the mixture is dissolved and continue stirring for an extra 30 min after dissolution (maintain the temperature above 60 °C during the stirring process). Discontinue stirring and allow the mixture to cool at room temperature for at least 2 h. A firm, viscoelastic gel forms after the temperature drops below 40 °C, but no such gel forms in a 1 % control solution of cassia gum or xanthan gum alone prepared in a similar manner.
Viscosity
Less than 500 mPa.s (25 °C, 2h, 1 % solution) corresponding to an average molecular weight of 200 000 -300 000 Da

Purity criteria

Acid insoluble matter
Not more than 2,0 %
pH
5,5-8 (1 % aqueous solution)
Crude fat
Not more than 1 %
Protein
Not more than 7 %
Total ash
Not more than 1,2 %
Loss on drying
Not more than 12 % (5h, 105 °C)
Total anthraquinones
Not more than 0,5 mg/kg(detection limit)
Solvent residues
Not more than 750 mg/kg Propan-2-ol
Lead
Not more than 1 mg/kg
Microbiological criteria: Total plate count
Not more than 5 000 colony forming units per gram
Microbiological criteria: Yeast and moulds
Not more than 100 colony forming units per gram
Microbiological criteria: Salmonella spp.
Absent in 25 g
Microbiological criteria: Escherichia coli
Absent in 1 g

Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, Annex, E 427

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E427

CAS registry number

  • 51434-18-5

As it appears in regulation

  • Cassia gum

Other names

  • Cassia gum
  • Cassia gum (Cassia tora and Cassia obtusifolia)
  • E 427
  • Gum cassia tora

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADInot specified—JECFA2010

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 427?
E 427 is Cassia gum. Cassia gum is a thickener from the seed of a legume, used in dairy products, frozen desserts and meat products, often blended with other gums.
What is Cassia gum used for in food?
It is listed as an emulsifier, a gelling agent and a thickener — the role Codex assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Where is Cassia gum permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, the EU, Great Britain 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 Cassia gum vegan?
Yes. Cassia gum 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
  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07
  • euspecs retrieved 2026-10-18

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.

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