Lactylated mono- and diglycerides

Listed as an emulsifier, a thickener and a stabiliser by Canada.

Listed as emulsifiers (CA) · thickeners (CA) · stabilisers (CA)

Mono- and diglycerides with lactic acid attached, used as emulsifiers and whipping agents in cake batters and toppings.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Lactylated mono- and diglycerides 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, with conditions

highest permitted level 5,000 mg/kg

3 permitted uses

Show every permitted use
  • In: Shortening. Purpose: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent. Limit: If used singly, the amount not to exceed 8.0%. If used in combination with monoglycerides or mono- and diglycerides, or both, the total combined amount not to exceed 20.0%, provided that the amount of lactylated mono- and diglycerides does not exceed 8.0% and the amount of monoglycerides does not exceed 10.0%. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4), item L.1(a)
  • In: Unstandardized foods, except those unstandardized foods set out in paragraph (c) of this item. Purpose: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent. Limit: 8.0% of the fat content. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4), item L.1(b)
  • In: Whipped yogurt. Purpose: Emulsifying agent. Limit: 5,000 ppm. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0085. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4), item L.1(c)
Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)and 2 further provisionsretrieved 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 / 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.

Canada5,000 mg/kg1 numeric limit, 2 no quantity stated

What it is made from

Made by reacting mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids with lactic acid. The fatty acids may be of vegetable or animal origin.

Every name it appears under

1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.

Other names

  • Lactylated Mono- and Diglycerides

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 Lactylated mono- and diglycerides?
Mono- and diglycerides with lactic acid attached, used as emulsifiers and whipping agents in cake batters and toppings.
What is Lactylated mono- and diglycerides used for in food?
It is listed as an emulsifier, a thickener and a stabiliser — the role Canada assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Where is Lactylated mono- and diglycerides permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.

Sources for this page

  • ca retrieved 2026-10-17

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.

Follow changes to Lactylated mono- and diglycerides:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.