Guaiac resin

INS 314CAS 9000-29-7

Listed as an antioxidant by Codex and the US.

Listed as antioxidants (US, Codex) · preservatives (CA) · flavouring agents and adjuvants (US)

Guaiac resin is an antioxidant used to protect fats and oils from rancidity. Outside food it is the reagent in the guaiac test for hidden blood.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Guaiac resin 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 ZealandNo 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 CanadaPermitted

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

2 permitted uses

Show every permitted use
  • In: Fats and oils, except milk fat, olive oil and suet; Lard; Mono- and diglycerides; Shortening. Purpose: Preservative. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Preservatives (List 11), item G.1(a)
  • In: Unstandardized foods, except unstandardized preparations of meat or meat by-product, fish or meat (as defined in section B.21.002 of the Food and Drug Regulations) or poultry meat or poultry meat by-product. Purpose: Preservative. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0122. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Preservatives (List 11), item G.1(b)
Health Canada, List of Permitted Preservatives (List 11)and 1 further provisionretrieved 2026-10-17
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSANo 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 BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards ScotlandNo 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 AgencyNo 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 SafetyNo 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 AdministrationNot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

4 food categories

highest permitted level 1,500 mg/kg

Show every food category and its notes
  • 02.1.2 Vegetable oils and fats — 1,000 mg/kg
    • Note XS19 Excluding products conforming to the Standard for Edible Fats and Oils not covered by Individual Standards (CXS 19-1981).
    • Note XS33 Excluding products conforming to the Standard for Olive Oils and Olive Pomace Oils (CODEX STAN 33-1981).
    • Note XS210 Excluding products conforming to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oils (CXS 210-1999).
    • Note XS325R Excluding products conforming to the Regional Standard for Unrefined Shea Butter (CXS 325R-2017).
  • 02.1.3 Lard, tallow, fish oil, and other animal fats — 1,000 mg/kg
    • Note XS19 Excluding products conforming to the Standard for Edible Fats and Oils not covered by Individual Standards (CXS 19-1981).
    • Note XS211 Excluding products conforming to the Standard for Named Animal Fat (CODEX STAN 211-1999).
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 1,500 mg/kg
  • 12.6 Sauces and like products — 600 mg/kg
    • Note 15 On the fat or oil basis.
    • Note XS302 Excluding products conforming to the Standard for Fish Sauce (CODEX STAN 302-2011).
    • Note XS306 Excluding products conforming to the Standard for Chilli Sauce (CXS 306-2011).
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 314and 3 further provisionsretrieved 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.

Canada—2 GMP
Codex Alimentarius600 mg/kg – 1,500 mg/kg4 numeric limit

What it is made from

Tapped or extracted from the wood of Guaiacum officinale and related trees. Both species are listed under CITES, which constrains the trade.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number
9000-29-7

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 314 Guaiac Resin

The resin from the wood of Guajacum officinale L., or of Guajacum sanctum L., (Fam. Zygophyllaceae ), consisting of approximately 70% alpha- and beta-guaiaconic acids, 10% guaiaretic acid, and 15% guaiac beta-resin and small quantities of guaiac yellow, vanillin, etc.

Synonyms: Guaiac gum, Gum guaiac, Gum guaiacum, Guaiacum; INS No. 314 Guaiac gum; Guaiacum; Gum guaiac; Gum guaiacum

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

Specification history
Prepared at the 55th JECFA (2000) and published in FNP 52 Add 8 (2000), superseding tentative specifications prepared at the 17th JECFA (1973) and published in FNP 4 (1978) and in FNP 52 (1992). An ADI of 0-2.5 mg/kg bw was established at the 17th JECFA (1973).
DESCRIPTION
Irregular lumps enclosing fragments of vegetable tissues; or large, nearly homogeneous masses and occasionally more or less rounded or ovoid tears; externally, it is brownish black to dusky brown, acquiring a greenish colour on long exposure, the fractured surface having a glassy lustre, the thin pieces being transparent and varying in colour from brown to yellowish orange; the powder is moderate yellow brown, becoming olive brown on exposure to air. It has a mild balsamic odour.
FUNCTIONAL USES
Antioxidant

Identification

Solubility (Vol. 4)
Insoluble in water; soluble in fats; dissolves readily but incompletely in ethanol, ether, and solutions of alkalis
Melting range (Vol. 4)
85 - 90 o
Colour reactions
Add 1 drop of ferric chloride TS to 5 ml of an ethanolic solution of the sample (1 in 100). A blue colour is produced which gradually changes to green, finally becoming greenish yellow. A mixture of 5 ml of an ethanolic solution of the sample (1 in 100) and 5 ml of water becomes blue upon shaking with 20 mg of lead peroxide. Filter the solution, and boil a portion of the filtrate. The colour disappears but may be restored by the addition of lead peroxide and shaking. Add a few drops of diluted hydrochloric acid TS to a second portion of the filtrate. The colour is immediately discharged.

Purity criteria

Total ash (Vol. 4))
Not more than 5%
Acid-insoluble ash (Vol. 4) Ethanol-insoluble residue
Not more than 2% Not more than 15% Place 2 g of the sample, finely powdered and accurately weighed, in a dry, tared extraction thimble, and extract it with ethanol in a suitable continuous extraction apparatus for 3 h or until completely extracted. Dry the insoluble residue in a thimble for 4 h at 105 o and weigh. The weight of the residue shall not exceed 300 mg.
Rosin
A 10% solution of the sample in petroleum ether is colourless and when shaken with an equal quantity of a fresh solution of cupric acetate 0.5% is not more green than a similar solution of cupric acetate in petroleum ether.
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

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

INS number

  • 314

Other names

  • GUAIAC RESIN

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI2.5 mg/kg bw/day—JECFA1973

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 INS 314?
INS 314 is Guaiac resin. Guaiac resin is an antioxidant used to protect fats and oils from rancidity. Outside food it is the reagent in the guaiac test for hidden blood.
What is Guaiac resin used for in food?
It is listed as an antioxidant — the role Codex and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Where is Guaiac resin permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada 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 Guaiac resin vegan?
Yes. Guaiac resin is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Sources for this page

  • ca retrieved 2026-10-17
  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07
  • 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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