Iron (III) meso-Tartrate

E number E534

Iron (III) meso-tartrate is an anticaking agent permitted in the EU only in salt and salt substitutes. It stops salt crystals from knitting together into a solid lump.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Iron (III) meso-Tartrate 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 CanadaNo 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 / EFSAPermitted, with conditions

2 food categories

highest permitted level 110 mg/kg

ML = 110 mg/kg. Note 92: Expressed on dry matter.

Show every food category
  • 12.1.1 Salt — 110 mg/kg
  • 12.1.2 salt substitutes — 110 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 110 mg/kg or mg/l

ML = 110. Note (92): Expressed on dry matter.

Show every food category
  • 12.1.1 Salt — 110 mg/kg or mg/l
  • 12.1.2 Salt substitutes — 110 mg/kg or mg/l
Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008and 1 further provisionretrieved 2026-10-18
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 / JECFANot 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 Union110 mg/kg2 numeric limit
Great Britain110 mg/kg2 numeric limit

What it is made from

Made by complexing iron with meso-tartaric acid, an isomer of tartaric acid produced by heating ordinary tartaric acid under alkaline conditions.

  • 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 534 Iron tartrate

Iron tartrate is manufactured by the isomerisation of L-tartrate to an equilibrium mixture of D-, L- and meso-tartrate followed by addition of iron(III) chloride.

Synonyms: Iron meso-tartrate; complexation product of sodium tartrate with iron(III) chloride

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

CAS number
1280193-05-9
Chemical name
Iron(III) complexation product of D(+)-, L(-)- and meso-2,3 dihydroxybutanedioic acids
Chemical formula
Fe(OH)₂ C₄H₄O₆Na
Molecular weight
261,93
meso-tartrate
> 28 %, expressed as the anion on dry basis
D(-)- and L(+)-tartrate
> 10 %, expressed as the anion on dry basis
Iron(III)
> 8 %, expressed as the anion on dry basis
Description
Dark green aqueous solution typically comprising ca 35 % by weight complexation products
Identification
Highly soluble in water Positive tests for tartrate and iron pH of a 35 % aqueous solution of complexation products between 3,5 and 3,9

Purity criteria

Chloride
Not more than 25 %
Sodium
Not more than 23 %
Arsenic
Not more than 3 mg/kg
Lead
Not more than 2 mg/kg
Mercury
Not more than 1 mg/kg
Oxalate
Not more than 1,5 % expressed as oxalate on dry basis

Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, Annex, E 534

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E534

As it appears in regulation

  • Iron (III) meso-Tartrate

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 534?
E 534 is Iron (III) meso-Tartrate. Iron (III) meso-tartrate is an anticaking agent permitted in the EU only in salt and salt substitutes. It stops salt crystals from knitting together into a solid lump.
Where is Iron (III) meso-Tartrate permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, the EU and Great Britain 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 Iron (III) meso-Tartrate vegan?
Yes. Iron (III) meso-Tartrate 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
  • gb 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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