Citric and fatty acid esters of glycerol

E number E472cINS 472c

Used as an antioxidant — Codex also lists it as emulsifier, flour treatment agent, sequestrant, stabilizer.

These are mono- and diglycerides esterified with citric acid, used in margarine, sausages and baked goods, and as an antioxidant synergist in frying oils.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Citric and fatty acid esters of glycerol by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
Jurisdiction	Status	Scope and limits	Citation
United StatesFood and Drug Administration	Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFA	Permitted, with conditions	25 food categories highest permitted level 9,000 mg/kg Show every food category 01.1.2 Other Fluid Milk (plain) — GMP 01.2.1.1 Fermented milks (plain), not heat-treated after fermentation — GMP 01.2.1.2 Fermented milks (plain), heat-treated after fermentation — GMP 01.2.2 Renneted milk (plain) — GMP 01.4.1 Pasteurized cream (plain) — GMP 01.4.2 Sterilized and UHT creams, whipping and whipped creams, and reduced fat creams (plain) — GMP 02.1.2 Vegetable oils and fats — 100 mg/kg 02.1.3 Lard, tallow, fish oil, and other animal fats — 100 mg/kg 04.2.2.7 Fermented vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera) and seaweed products, excluding fermented soybean products of food categories 06.8.6, 06.8.7, 12.9.1, — GMP 06.4.1 Fresh pastas and noodles and like products — GMP 08.1.1 Fresh meat, poultry and game, whole pieces or cuts — GMP 08.1.2 Fresh meat, poultry and game, comminuted — GMP 09.1.2 Fresh molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP 09.2.1 Frozen fish, fish fillets, and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP 09.2.2 Frozen battered fish, fish fillets and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP 09.2.3 Frozen minced and creamed fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP 09.2.4.1 Cooked fish and fish products — GMP 09.2.4.3 Fried fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP 09.2.5 Smoked, dried, fermented, and/or salted fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP 11.4 Other sugars and syrups (e.g. xylose, maple syrup, sugar toppings) — GMP 12.1.2 Salt substitutes — GMP 13.1.1 Infant formulae — 9,000 mg/kg 13.1.3 Formulae for special medical purposes for infants — 9,000 mg/kg 13.2 Complementary foods for infants and young children — 5,000 mg/kg 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions, and other hot cereal and grain beverages, excluding cocoa — GMP	CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 472cand 25 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Made by esterifying mono- and diglycerides with citric acid. The fat source may be plant or animal and is rarely declared.

Vegan status depends on the source

Vegetarian status depends on the source

May raise a halal question

May raise a kosher question

This is not an omission. What this additive is made from is not fixed — depending on the manufacturer it may be plant, animal or microbial in origin, nobody is required to say which, and the same product can change source between production runs. Ask the manufacturer if it matters to you; a label cannot answer it.

Every name it appears under

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

E number

E472c

INS number

472c

Other names

Citrem
Citric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides
Citric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
CITRIC AND FATTY ACID ESTERS OF GLYCEROL
Citroglycerides
E 472c
Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids esterified with citric acid

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
Type	Value	Population	Assessed by	Opinion
ADI	1	consumers	EFSA FAF	2025

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.

Type

Value

Population

Assessed by

Opinion

ADI

consumers

EFSA FAF

2025