Erythorbic acid

E number E315INS 315CAS 89-65-6

Used as an antioxidant.

Erythorbic acid is a stereoisomer of vitamin C with the same antioxidant power but almost none of the vitamin activity. It is used in cured meats and canned goods where the antioxidant effect is what is wanted.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Erythorbic acid 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 182.3041retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

5 food categories

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

Show every food category
  • 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
  • 14.2.3 Grape wines — GMP
CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 315and 5 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Produced by fermenting glucose with Penicillium moulds. It is chemically the mirror-image relative of ascorbic acid, which is why the body does not recognise it as a vitamin.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
89-65-6
InChIKey
CIWBSHSKHKDKBQ-DUZGATOHSA-N
PubChem
CID 54675810

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E315

INS number

  • 315

CAS registry number

  • 89-65-6

As it appears in regulation

  • Erythorbic acid

Other names

  • (2R)-2-[(1R)-1,2-dihydroxyethyl]-3,4-dihydroxy-2H-furan-5-one
  • (5R)-5-[(1R)-1,2-dihydroxyethyl]-3,4-dihydroxy-2,5-dihydrofuran-2-one
  • (5R)-5-[(1R)-1,2-dihydroxyethyl]-3,4-dihydroxyfuran-2(5H)-one
  • (R)-5-((R)-1,2-dihydroxyethyl)-3,4-dihydroxyfuran-2(5H)-one
  • 2,3-Didehydro-D-erythro-hexono-1,4-lactone
  • 3-Keto-D-erythro-hexonic acid gamma-lactone
  • 3-Oxohexonic acid lactone, D-erythro-
  • 5-18-05-00026 (Beilstein Handbook Reference)
  • Araboascorbic acid
  • Araboascorbic acid, D-
  • Ascorbic Acid EP Impurity F
  • BRN 0084271
  • CAS-89-65-6
  • CCRIS 6568
  • d(-)-isoascorbic acid
  • D(-)-Isoascorbic Acid (Erythorbic Acid)
  • D(-?)?-?Isoascorbic Acid (Erythorbic Acid)
  • D-(-)-Isoascorbic acid
  • D-(-)-Isoascorbic acid, 98%
  • D-arabino-Ascorbic acid
  • D-Araboascorbic acid
  • D-ASCORBIC ACID, ISO
  • D-Erythorbic acid
  • D-erythro-3-Ketohexonic acid lactone
  • D-erythro-3-Oxohexonic acid lactone
  • D-erythro-ascorbic acid
  • D-erythro-hex-2-enoic acid ?-lactone
  • D-erythro-hex-2-enonic acid gamma-lactone
  • D-erythro-Hex-2-enonic acid, g-lactone
  • D-erythro-Hex-2-enonic acid, |A-lactone
  • D-erythro-hex-2-enono-1,4-lactone
  • d-iso-ascorbic acid
  • D-Isoascorbic acid
  • D-Isoascorbic acid 1000 microg/mL in Acetonitrile
  • D-soascorbic acid
  • E 315
  • Erycorbin
  • Erythorbic acid
  • ERYTHORBIC ACID (ISOASCORBIC ACID)
  • Erythorbic acid (Standard)
  • Erythorbic acid, 99%
  • erythroascorbic acid
  • Erythroascorbic acid, D-
  • FEMA No. 2410
  • FEMA Number: 2410
  • Glucosaccharonic acid
  • Hex-2-enonic acid gamma-lactone, D-erythro-
  • HSDB 584
  • INS NO.315
  • INS-315
  • Isoascorbic acid
  • ISOASCORBIC-ACID
  • Isovitamin C
  • Mercate 5
  • Neo-cebicure
  • Saccharosonic acid
  • Sodium Ascorbate EP Impurity F

Systematic names

  • (5R)-5-((1R)-1,2-dihydroxyethyl)-3,4-dihydroxyfuran-2(5H)-one;D-erythro-hex-2-enono-1,4-lactone
  • (5R)-5-[(1R)-1,2-dihydroxyethyl]-3,4-dihydroxyfuran-2(5H)-one
  • (5R)-5-[(1R)-1,2-Dihydroxyethyl]-3,4-dihydroxyfuran-2(5H)-one (D-Isoascorbic Acid)
  • (5R)-5-[(1R)-1,2-Dihydroxyethyl]-3,4-dihydroxyfuran-2(5H)-one (D-Isoascorbic Acid); Ascorbic Acid Impurity F; Sodium Ascorbate Impurity F

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI6 mg/kg bw/dayconsumersEFSA ANS2015

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/erythorbic-acid.json