Ferrous gluconate

E number E579INS 579CAS 6047-12-7

Listed as a colour retention agent by Canada and Codex.

Listed as colour retention agents (CA, Codex) · colours (US) · nutrient supplements (US)
Chemical structure of Ferrous gluconate, from PubChem compound 198008
Structure from PubChem CID 198008 (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.

Ferrous gluconate is an iron fortificant and colour retention agent, used to fix the black colour of oxidised ripe olives.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Ferrous gluconate 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 ZealandPermitted, with conditions

54 food categories

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

Show every food category
  • 0 Preparations of food additives — GMP
  • 1.1.1 Liquid milk (including buttermilk) — GMPOnly UHT goats milk.
  • 1.1.2 Liquid milk products and flavoured liquid milk — GMP
  • 1.2.2 Fermented milk products and rennetted milk products — GMP
  • 1.3 Condensed milk and evaporated milk — GMP
  • 1.4.1 Cream, reduced cream and light cream — GMPOnly UHT creams and creams receiving equivalent or greater heat treatments.
  • 1.4.2 Cream products (flavoured, whipped, thickened, sour cream etc) — GMP
  • 1.5 Dried milk, milk powder, cream powder — GMP
  • 1.6 Cheese and cheese products — GMP
  • 10.2 Liquid egg products — GMP
  • 10.3 Frozen egg products — GMP
  • 10.4 Dried or heat coagulated egg products — GMP
  • 11.1.1 Rainbow sugar — GMP
  • 11.3.1 Dried honey — GMP
  • 11.4 Tabletop sweeteners — GMP
  • 12.1.2 Reduced sodium salt mixture — GMP
  • 12.1.3 Salt substitute — GMP
  • 12.5 Yeast and yeast products — GMP
  • 12.6 Vegetable protein products — GMP
  • 13.3 Formulated meal replacements and formulated supplementary foods — GMP
  • 13.4 Formulated supplementary sports foods — GMP
  • 13.5 Food for special medical purposes — GMP
  • 14.1.1.2 Carbonated, mineralised and soda waters — GMP
  • 14.1.2.1 Fruit and vegetable juices — GMPFor juice separated by other than mechanical means only.
  • 14.1.2.2 Fruit and vegetable juice products — GMP
  • 14.1.3 Water based flavoured drinks — GMP
  • 14.1.4 Formulated Beverages — GMP
  • 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions and similar products — GMP
  • 14.2.3 Wine based drinks and reduced alcohol wines — GMP
  • 14.2.4.1 Fruit wine products and vegetable wine products — GMP
  • 14.2.5 Spirits and liqueurs — GMP
  • 14.3 Alcoholic beverages not included in item 14.2 — GMP
  • 2.1 Edible oils essentially free of water — GMP
  • 2.2.1.2 Butter products — GMP
  • 2.2.1.3 Margarine and similar products — GMP
  • 2.2.2 Oil emulsions (<80% oil) — GMP
  • 20 Foods not included in items 0 to 14 — GMP
  • 3 Ice cream and edible ices — GMP
  • 4.1.3 Fruits and vegetables that are peeled, cut, or both peeled and cut — GMP
  • 4.3 Processed fruits and vegetables — GMP
  • 5.1 Chocolate and cocoa products — GMP
  • 5.2 Sugar confectionery — GMP
  • 5.4 Icings and frostings — GMP
  • 6.3 Processed cereal and meal products — GMP
  • 6.4 Flour products (including noodles and pasta) — GMP
  • 7 Breads and bakery products — GMP
  • 8.2 Processed meat, poultry and game products in whole cuts or pieces — GMP
  • 8.3 Processed comminuted meat, poultry and game products, other than products listed in item 8.3.2 — GMP
  • 8.3.2 Sausage and sausage meat containing raw, unprocessed meat — GMP
  • 8.4 Edible casings — GMP
  • 8.5 Animal protein products — GMP
  • 9.2 Processed fish and fish products — GMP
  • 9.3 Semi preserved fish and fish products — GMP
  • 9.4 Fully preserved fish including canned fish products — GMP
Food Standards Code, Schedule 15, S15—5and 53 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17
CanadaHealth CanadaPermitted

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

In: Ripe olives. Purpose: Colour retention agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice.

Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item F.1retrieved 2026-10-17
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSAPermitted, with conditions

2 food categories

highest permitted level 150 mg/kg

ML = 150 mg/kg. only olives darkened by oxidation. Note 56: Expressed as Fe.

Show every food category
  • 4.2.2 fruit and vegetables in vinegar oil or brine — 150 mg/kg
  • 4.2.3 canned or bottled fruit and vegetables — 150 mg/kg
Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex IIand 1 further provisionretrieved 2026-10-18
Great BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards ScotlandPermitted, with conditions

2 food categories

highest permitted level 150 mg/kg or mg/l

ML = 150. only olives darkened by oxidation. Note (56): Expressed as Fe.

Show every food category
  • 4.2.2 Fruit and vegetables in vinegar, oil, or brine — 150 mg/kg or mg/l
  • 4.2.3 Canned or bottled fruit and vegetables — 150 mg/kg or mg/l
Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008and 1 further provisionretrieved 2026-10-18
JapanConsumer Affairs AgencyPermitted, with conditions
Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 131, グルコン酸第一鉄（別名グルコン酸鉄） (“Ferrous Gluconate (Iron Gluconate)” in the unofficial English translation). …

Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 131, グルコン酸第一鉄（別名グルコン酸鉄） (“Ferrous Gluconate (Iron Gluconate)” in the unofficial English translation). Standards for use — Specifications and Standards for Foods, Food Additives, etc. (MHW Notification No. 370 of 1959), Part II (Food Additives), F (Standards for use), entry グルコン酸第一鉄: (1) [may be used only in the foods stated] “グルコン酸第一鉄は、オリーブ、母乳代替食品、離乳食品及び妊産婦・授乳婦用粉乳以外の食品に使用してはならない。” (2) [sets maximum levels of use for the foods stated] “グルコン酸第一鉄の使用量は、鉄として、オリーブ1kgにつき0.15g以下でなければならない。” The Japanese is the standard as published. There is no official English translation of the Notification; 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 for this additive, in the same Notification, are not imported and are not shown here; nor are the general rules in F 添加物一般, which apply to every additive.

Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act (MHW Ordinance No. 23 of 1948), Appended Table 1retrieved 2026-10-18
South KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug SafetyPermitted, 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), 글루콘산철 (“Ferrous Gluconate”, the English the Code prints beside it); the Code marks it as also usable as a nutrient fortifier; 3. 영양강화제 (nutrient fortifiers), 글루콘산철; nutrient: 철(Fe); the Code marks it as also usable as a general food additive. Main use (주용도) of 글루콘산철: 산도조절제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 글루콘산철: (1) [may be used only in the foods listed; sets a limit on the amount used] “글루콘산철은 아래의 식품에 한하여 사용하여야 한다. 다만, 올리브가공품에 한하여 글루콘산철의 사용량은 철로서 1. 올리브가공품 : 0.15g/kg 이하 2. 건강기능식품” Standard for use (사용기준) of 글루콘산철: (1) [follows the standard for use of another entry in the Code] “III. 1. 일반식품첨가물의 글루콘산철의 사용기준을 따른다.” 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 StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 73.160and 1 further provisionretrieved 2026-10-17
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

1 food category

highest permitted level 150 mg/kg

Note 23 As iron.

Note 48 For use in olives only.

Note 265 Except for use in products conforming to the Standard for Table Olives (CXS 66-1981): for use in table olives darkened with oxidation as a colour retention agent.

CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 579, food category 04.2.2.3retrieved 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.

Australia and New Zealand—54 GMP
Canada—1 GMP
European Union150 mg/kg2 numeric limit
Great Britain150 mg/kg2 numeric limit
Japan—1 no quantity stated
South Korea—1 no quantity stated
United States—2 no quantity stated
Codex Alimentarius150 mg/kg1 numeric limit

What it is made from

Made by reacting an iron salt with fermentation-derived gluconic acid.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number
6047-12-7
InChIKey
OKGNXSFAYMSVNN-SYAJEJNSSA-L
PubChem
CID 198008

The two specifications, compared

The European Union sets identity and purity by regulation; JECFA publishes its own through FAO, advisory until a country adopts it. Both documents are below in full. These are the parameters each puts a number on.

ParameterEuropean UnionJECFA
Assayno less than 95 %no less than 95 %
Loss on dryingno more than 10 %no less than 6.5 %
Leadno more than 2 mg/kgno more than 2 mg/kg
Arsenicno more than 3 mg/kg—
Mercuryno more than 1 mg/kg—
Cadmiumno more than 1 mg/kg—

The two documents state the same figures for every parameter compared here.

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 579 Ferrous gluconate

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

Einecs
206-076-3
Chemical name
Ferrous di-D-gluconate dihydrate; Iron(II) di-gluconate dihydrate
Chemical formula
C₁₂H₂₂FeO₁₄·2H₂O
Molecular weight
482,17
Assay
Content not less than 95 % on the dried basis
Description
Pale greenish-yellow to yellowish-grey powder or granules, which may have a faint odour of burnt sugar

Identification

Solubility
Soluble with slight heating in water. Practically insoluble in ethanol
Test for ferrous ion
Passes test
Formation of phenylhy-drazine derivative of gluconic acid
Positive
pH
Between 4 and 5,5 (10 % solution)

Purity criteria

Loss on drying
Not more than 10 % (105 °C, 16 hours)
Oxalic acid
Not detectable
Iron (Fe III)
Not more than 2 %
Arsenic
Not more than 3 mg/kg
Lead
Not more than 2 mg/kg
Mercury
Not more than 1 mg/kg
Cadmium
Not more than 1 mg/kg
Reducing substances
Not more than 0,5 % expressed as glucose

Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, Annex, E 579

How JECFA defines it

The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.

INS 579 Ferrous Gluconate

Synonyms: INS No. 579

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

Specification history
Prepared at the 53rd JECFA (1999) and published in FNP 52 Add 7 (1999), superseding specifications prepared at the 51st JECFA (1998), published in FNP 52 Add 6 (1998). PMTDI 0.8 mg/kg bw for iron, established at the 27th JECFA in 1983.
Chemical names
Iron (II) di-D-gluconate dihydrate, ferrous gluconate
C.A.S. number
299-29-6
Chemical formula
C 12 H 22 FeO 14 · 2H 2 O
Formula weight
482.17
Assay
Not less than 95% on the dried basis
DESCRIPTION
Fine yellowish-grey or pale greenish-yellow powder or granules having a slight odour resembling that of burnt sugar
FUNCTIONAL USES
Colour, stabilizer, nutrient supplement
METHOD OF ASSAY
Dissolve about 1.5 g of the dried sample, accurately weighed, in a mixture of 75 ml of water and 15 ml of dilute sulfuric acid TS in a 300-ml Erlenmeyer flask, and add 250 mg of zinc dust. Close the flask with a stopper containing a Bunsen valve, and allow to stand at room temperature for 20 min. Then filter through a Gooch crucible containing a glass fibre filter paper coated with a thin layer of zinc dust, and wash the crucible and contents with 10 ml of dilute sulfuric acid TS, followed by 10 ml of water. Add orthophenanthroline TS and titrate the filtrate in the suction flask immediately with 0.1 N ceric sulfate. Perform a blank determination, and make any necessary correction. Each ml of 0.1 N ceric sulfate is equivalent to 44.61 mg of C 12 H 22 FeO 14 .

Identification

Solubility (Vol. 4)
Soluble with slight heating in water; practically insoluble in ethanol
Test for ferrous salts (Vol. 4)
Passes test
Test for gluconate (Vol.4)
Passes test

Purity criteria

Loss on drying (Vol. 4)
Not less than 6.5% and not more than 10.0% (105 o , 16 h)
Reducing sugars
Dissolve 0.5 g of the sample in 10 ml of water; warm, and make the solution alkaline with 1 ml of ammonia TS. Pass hydrogen sulfide gas into the solution to precipitate the iron, and allow the mixture to stand for 30 min to coagulate the precipitate. Filter, and wash the precipitate with two successive 5 ml portions of water. Acidify the combined filtrate and washings with hydrochloric acid, and add 2 ml of dilute hydrochloric acid TS in excess. Boil the solution until the vapours no longer darken lead acetate paper, and continue to boil, if necessary, until concentrated to about 10 ml. Allow to cool, add 5 ml of sodium carbonate TS and 20 ml of water; filter, and adjust the volume of the filtrate to 100 ml. To 5 ml of the filtrate add 2 ml of alkaline cupric tartrate TS and boil for 1 min. No red precipitate should be formed within 1 min.
Iron (III)
Not more than 2% Dissolve about 5 g of the sample, accurately weighed, in a mixture of 100 ml of water and 10 ml of hydrochloric acid in a 250-ml glass stoppered flask. Add 3 g of potassium iodide, shake well, and allow to stand in the dark for 5 min. Titrate any liberated iodine with 0.1 N sodium thiosulfate, using starch TS as the indicator. Each ml of 0.1 N sodium thiosulfate is equivalent to 5.585 mg of iron (Fe III).
Lead (Vol. 4)
Not more than 2 mg/kg Determine using an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the method described in Volume 4, “Instrumental Methods.”

FAO JECFA Monograph 1 (2006)

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E579

INS number

  • 579

CAS registry number

  • 22830-45-1
  • 6047-12-7

As it appears in regulation

  • Ferrous gluconate

Other names

  • Apo-Ferrous Gluconate
  • CCRIS 7332
  • D-Gluconic acid, iron(2+) salt, dihydrate
  • D-GLUCONIC ACID, IRON(2+) SALT, HYDRATE (2:1:2)
  • D-GLUCONIC ACID, IRON(II) SALT (2:1), DIHYDRATE
  • D-Gluconic acid, iron(II) salt, dihydrate
  • Enterued (TN)
  • Ferrous gluconate (USP)
  • Ferrous gluconate [USP]
  • Ferrous gluconate dihydrate
  • Gluconic acid, iron(2+) salt, dihydrate
  • GLUCONIC ACID, IRON(2+) SALT, DIHYDRATE, D-
  • Gluconic acid, iron(II) salt, hydrate (2:1:2)
  • IRON (AS FERROUS GLUCONATE) [VANDF]
  • IRON (II) DI-D-GLUCONATE DEHYDRATE
  • Iron(2+) D-gluconate--water (1/2/2)
  • iron(2+);(2R,3S,4R,5R)-2,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxyhexanoate;dihydrate
  • Iron(II) D-gluconate dihydrate
  • IRON(II) GLUCONATE (1:2) DIHYDRATE
  • Iron(II) gluconate dihydrate
  • IRON, BIS(D-GLUCONATO-.KAPPA.O1,.KAPPA.O2)-, HYDRATE (1:2)
  • Iron, bis(D-gluconato-O1,O2)-, dihydrate
  • OKGNXSFAYMSVNN-SYAJEJNSSA-L

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 E 579?
E 579 is Ferrous gluconate. Ferrous gluconate is an iron fortificant and colour retention agent, used to fix the black colour of oxidised ripe olives.
What is Ferrous gluconate used for in food?
It is listed as a colour retention agent — the role Canada and Codex assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Where is Ferrous gluconate permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, the EU, Great Britain, Japan, South Korea, the US 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 Ferrous gluconate vegan?
Yes. Ferrous gluconate is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Sources for this page

  • anz retrieved 2026-10-17
  • ca retrieved 2026-10-17
  • eu retrieved 2026-10-18
  • gb retrieved 2026-10-18
  • jp retrieved 2026-10-18
  • kr retrieved 2026-10-18
  • ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17
  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07
  • euspecs retrieved 2026-10-18
  • jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23

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

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