Chitosan
Chitosan · Chitosan (average molecular weight 90 to 120 kDa and degree of deacetylation not less than 80%)Listed as a preservative by Canada.
Listed as preservatives (CA)
- Canada: Preservative — Health Canada, List of Permitted Preservatives (List 11)
Chitosan is a polysaccharide made by deacetylating chitin, the material of crustacean shells and fungal cell walls. Health Canada permits a defined grade of it, specified by molecular weight and by how far the deacetylation has gone.
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 1,500 mg/kg 23 permitted uses Show every permitted use
| Health Canada, List of Permitted Preservatives (List 11)and 22 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17 |
| European Union | 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. | ||
| Great Britain | 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. | ||
| 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), 키토산 (“Chitosan”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 키토산: 증점제, 안정제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 키토산: (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 | 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.
| Canada | 150 mg/kg – 1,500 mg/kg | 23 numeric limit |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | — | 1 no quantity stated |
What it is made from
Made by treating chitin with alkali. Chitin comes mainly from shrimp and crab shells, which makes most chitosan a shellfish-derived ingredient; fungal sources exist.
- Not vegan
- Not vegetarian
- May raise a halal question
- May raise a kosher question
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
Every name it appears under
2 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
Other names
- Chitosan
- Chitosan (average molecular weight 90 to 120 kDa and degree of deacetylation not less than 80%)
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 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 Chitosan?
- Chitosan is a polysaccharide made by deacetylating chitin, the material of crustacean shells and fungal cell walls. Health Canada permits a defined grade of it, specified by molecular weight and by how far the deacetylation has gone.
- What is Chitosan used for in food?
- It is listed as a preservative — the role Canada assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Where is Chitosan permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada and South Korea 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 Chitosan vegan?
- No. Chitosan is animal-derived, and is not vegetarian either. This page says what it is made from.
Sources for this page
- ca retrieved 2026-10-17
- kr 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.
Follow changes to Chitosan:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.