E 246 is Glycolipids. Glycolipids are a recently authorised EU preservative, permitted only in soft drinks and alcohol-free beer and malt drinks.

Where is Glycolipids permitted?

Of the seven regulators this site reads, the EU permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.

Is Glycolipids vegan?

Yes. Glycolipids is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Glycolipids (E 246): legal status by country

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Glycolipids by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
Jurisdiction	Status	Scope and limits	Citation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia 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.
CanadaHealth Canada	No 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 / EFSA	Permitted, with conditions	3 food categories highest permitted level 50 mg/l Show every food category 14.1.4 Flavoured_drinks — 50 mg/lML = 50 mg/l. excluding dairy based drinks. 14.1.5.2 other — 20 mg/kgML = 20 mg/kg. Note 93: Maximum level applies to the ready-to-drink products (e.g. canned) and their mixes and concentrates after preparation and ready for consumption. 14.2.1 beer and malt beverages — 50 mg/kgML = 50 mg/kg. only alcohol free beer and malt beverages.	Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008and 2 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-18
Great BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards Scotland	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.
JapanConsumer Affairs Agency	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 KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug Safety	No 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 Administration	Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFA	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.

European Union	20 mg/kg – 50 mg/kg	3 numeric limit

What it is made from

Produced by fermenting the jelly fungus Dacryopinax spathularia, which secretes the glycolipids naturally, and purified from the broth.

Vegan
Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

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 246 Glycolipids

The naturally occurring glycolipids are obtained by a fermentation process using the wild type strain MUCL 53181 of the fungus Dacryopinax spathularia (edible sweet osmanthus ear mushroom). Glucose is used as a carbon source. The solvent-free downstream process includes filtration and microfiltration to remove microbial cells, precipitation and washing with buffered water to purify. The product is pasteurized and spray-dried. The production process does not chemically modify the glycolipids or change their innate composition.

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

CAS number: 2205009-17-0
Chemical name: Glycolipids from Dacryopinax spathularia
Assay: Not less than 93 % total glycolipid content on the dried basis.
Description: Beige to light brown powder, weak characteristic odour

Identification

Solubility: Complies (10 g/l in water)
pH: Between 5,0 and 7,0 (10 g/l in water)
Turbidity: Not more than 28 NTU (10 g/l in water)

Purity criteria

Water content: Not more than 5 % (Karl Fischer Method)
Protein: Not more than 3 % (factor N x 6,25)
Fat: Not more than 2 % (gravimetric)
Sodium: Not more than 3,3 %
Arsenic: Not more than 1 mg/kg
Lead: Not more than 0,7 mg/kg
Cadmium: Not more than 0,1 mg/kg
Mercury: Not more than 0,1 mg/kg
Nickel: Not more than 2 mg/kg
Microbiological criteria: Total aerobic count: Not more than 100 colonies per gram
Microbiological criteria: Yeast and moulds: Not more than 10 colonies per gram
Microbiological criteria: Coliforms: Not more than 3 MPN per gram
Microbiological criteria: Salmonella spp.: Absent in 25 g

Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, Annex, E 246

Every name it appears under

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

E number

E246

As it appears in regulation

Glycolipids

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
Type	Value	Population	Assessed by	Opinion
ADI	not specified	—	JECFA	2025

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 246?: E 246 is Glycolipids. Glycolipids are a recently authorised EU preservative, permitted only in soft drinks and alcohol-free beer and malt drinks.
Where is Glycolipids permitted?: Of the seven regulators this site reads, the EU permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
Is Glycolipids vegan?: Yes. Glycolipids 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
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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