Lauric arginate ethyl ester

E number E243INS 243CAS 48076-74-0

Used as a preservative.

Lauric arginate is an antimicrobial used on the surface of processed meats and in some drinks, effective against Listeria.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Lauric arginate ethyl ester by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
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

39 food categories

highest permitted level 315 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.6.1 Unripened cheese — 200 mg/kg
  • 01.6.2.1 Ripened cheese, includes rind — 200 mg/kg
  • 01.6.3 Whey cheese — 200 mg/kg
  • 01.6.4 Processed cheese — 200 mg/kg
  • 01.6.5 Cheese analogues — 200 mg/kg
  • 01.7 Dairy-based desserts (e.g. pudding, fruit or flavoured yoghurt) — 200 mg/kg
  • 02.2.2 Fat spreads, dairy fat spreads and blended spreads — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.11 Fruit fillings for pastries — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.2 Dried fruit — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.2.1.2 Surface-treated fresh vegetables, (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds and nuts and seeds — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.2.1.3 Peeled, cut or shredded fresh vegetables, (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds and nuts and seeds — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.3 Vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds in vinegar, oil, brine, or soybean sauce — 200 mg/kg
  • 05.1.3 Cocoa-based spreads, incl. fillings — 200 mg/kg
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 225 mg/kg
  • 06.5 Cereal and starch based desserts (e.g. rice pudding, tapioca pudding) — 200 mg/kg
  • 08.2.1 Non-heat treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts — 200 mg/kg
  • 08.2.2 Heat-treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts — 200 mg/kg
  • 08.2.3 Frozen processed meat, poultry and game products in whole pieces or cuts — 200 mg/kg
  • 08.3.1 Non-heat treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 315 mg/kg
  • 08.3.2 Heat-treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 200 mg/kg
  • 08.3.3 Frozen processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 315 mg/kg
  • 09.2.4.1 Cooked fish and fish products — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.2.4.2 Cooked molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.2.4.3 Fried fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.2.5 Smoked, dried, fermented, and/or salted fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.3.1 Fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms, marinated and/or in jelly — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.3.2 Fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms, pickled and/or in brine — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.3.3 Salmon substitutes, caviar and other fish roe products — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.3.4 Semi-preserved fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms (e.g. fish paste), excluding products of food categories 09.3.1 - 09.3.3 — 200 mg/kg
  • 10.2 Egg products — 200 mg/kg
  • 10.4 Egg-based desserts (e.g. custard) — 200 mg/kg
  • 12.2.2 Seasonings and condiments — 200 mg/kg
  • 12.5 Soups and broths — 200 mg/kg
  • 12.6.1 Emulsified sauces and dips (e.g. mayonnaise, salad dressing, onion dips) — 200 mg/kg
  • 12.6.2 Non-emulsified sauces (e.g. ketchup, cheese sauce, cream sauce, brown gravy) — 200 mg/kg
  • 12.7 Salads (e.g. macaroni salad, potato salad) and sandwich spreads excluding cocoa-and nut-based spreads of food categories 04.2.2.5 and 05.1.3 — 200 mg/kg
  • 14.1.4.1 Carbonated water-based flavoured drinks — 50 mg/kg
  • 14.1.4.2 Non-carbonated water-based flavoured drinks, including punches and ades — 50 mg/kg
  • 14.1.4.3 Concentrates (liquid or solid) for water-based flavoured drinks — 50 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 243and 38 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Made from lauric acid, the amino acid arginine and ethanol. The lauric acid usually comes from coconut or palm kernel oil but a general fat source is possible; the arginine is fermentation-derived.

  • Vegan status depends on the source
  • Vegetarian status depends on the source
  • May raise a halal question
  • May raise a kosher question

This is not an omission. What this additive is made from is not fixed — depending on the manufacturer it may be plant, animal or microbial in origin, nobody is required to say which, and the same product can change source between production runs. Ask the manufacturer if it matters to you; a label cannot answer it.

CAS registry number
48076-74-0
InChIKey
XJTMYVOVQZMMKX-KRWDZBQOSA-N
PubChem
CID 188214

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E243

INS number

  • 243

CAS registry number

  • 48076-74-0

Other names

  • E 243
  • ethyl (2S)-2-(dodecanoylamino)-5-guanidino-pentanoate
  • ethyl (2S)-5-(diaminomethylideneamino)-2-(dodecanoylamino)pentanoate
  • Ethyl dodecanoyl-L-argininate
  • Ethyl lauroyl arginate
  • ethyl N(alpha)-lauroyl-L-arginate
  • ethyl N(alpha)-lauroylarginate
  • ethyl n2-dodecanoyl-l-argininate
  • ETHYL N5-(DIAMINOMETHYLENE)-N2-DODECANOYL-L-ORNITHINATE
  • Ethyl N~5~-(diaminomethylidene)-N~2~-dodecanoyl-L-ornithinate
  • ethyl-Να- lauroyl-L-arginate·HCl
  • L-Arginine, N2-(1-oxododecyl)-, ethyl ester
  • L-EthylLauroylArginate
  • L-ORNITHINE, N5-(DIAMINOMETHYLENE)-N2-(1-OXODODECYL)-, ETHYL ESTER
  • LAE
  • lauramide arginine ethyl ester
  • LAURAMIDE ARGININE ETHYL ESTER FREE BASE
  • lauric arginate
  • LAURIC ARGINATE ETHYL ESTER
  • lauroyl arginine ethyl ester
  • N alpha-Lauroyl-L-arginine ethyl ester
  • N(alpha)-Cocoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester
  • N(alpha)-Cocoylarginine ethyl ester
  • N(alpha)-Cocylarginine ethyl ester
  • N(alpha)-Lauroyl-arginine ethyl ester
  • N(alpha)-Lauroylarginine ethyl ester
  • N-(alpha)-Cae
  • N-(alpha)-cocoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester
  • N-(alpha)-cocoylarginine ethyl ester
  • N-(alpha)-cocylarginine ethyl ester
  • N-(alpha)-Lae
  • N-(alpha)-lauroyl-arginine ethyl ester
  • N-(alpha)-Lauroyl-L-arginine ethyl ester, DL-pyroglutamic acid salt
  • N-(alpha)-lauroylarginine ethyl ester
  • N.ALPHA.-LAUROYL-L-ARGININE ETHYL ESTER
  • Nacaee
  • nalpha-lauroyl-l-arginine ethyl ester
  • N|A-Lauroyl-L-arginine ethyl ester

Systematic names

  • ethyl (2S)-5-(diaminomethylideneamino)-2-(dodecanoylamino)pentanoate

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI0.5 mg/kg bw/dayconsumersEFSAnot identified in the dataset

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07

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

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/lauric-arginate-ethyl-ester.json