Mannitol

INS 421

Used as a sweetener — Codex also lists it as anticaking agent, bulking agent, carrier, humectant, stabilizer, thickener.

Mannitol is a sugar alcohol roughly half as sweet as sugar, used in sugar-free confectionery and as a dusting powder for chewing gum because it absorbs very little moisture.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Mannitol 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

18 food categories

highest permitted level 10 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.2.2 Renneted milk (plain) — GMP
  • 06.4.2 Dried pastas and noodles and like products — GMP
  • 08.1.1 Fresh meat, poultry and game, whole pieces or cuts — GMP
  • 08.1.2 Fresh meat, poultry and game, comminuted — GMP
  • 09.2.1 Frozen fish, fish fillets, and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP
  • 09.2.2 Frozen battered fish, fish fillets and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP
  • 09.2.3 Frozen minced and creamed fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP
  • 09.2.4.1 Cooked fish and fish products — GMP
  • 09.2.4.3 Fried fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP
  • 09.2.5 Smoked, dried, fermented, and/or salted fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP
  • 10.2.2 Frozen egg products — GMP
  • 11.4 Other sugars and syrups (e.g. xylose, maple syrup, sugar toppings) — GMP
  • 12.1.2 Salt substitutes — GMP
  • 12.2.1 Herbs and spices — GMP
  • 13.1.1 Infant formulae — 10 mg/kg
  • 13.1.2 Follow-up formulae — 10 mg/kg
  • 13.1.3 Formulae for special medical purposes for infants — 10 mg/kg
  • 13.2 Complementary foods for infants and young children — 10 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 421and 18 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Made by hydrogenating fructose or glucose syrups, and also obtained from seaweed and from the exudate of the manna ash, which is where the name comes from.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
InChIKey
FBPFZTCFMRRESA-KVTDHHQDSA-N
PubChem
CID 6251

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E421

INS number

  • 421

CAS registry number

  • 69-65-8
  • 87-78-5

Other names

  • (2R,3R,4R,5R)-Hexane-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexaol
  • (2R,3R,4R,5R)-hexane-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexol
  • 3OWL53L36A
  • Aridol
  • Aridol Bronchial Challenge Test Kit
  • ARIDOL KIT
  • Bronchitol
  • Cordycepic acid
  • CURESTEM CELL HEALER C20
  • D-(-)-Mannitol
  • D-mannitol
  • Diosmol
  • DL-Mannitol
  • GD11 Rx SCM C5
  • INS NO.421
  • INS-421
  • Invenex
  • Isotol
  • manita
  • Maniton-S
  • Manna sugar
  • Mannazucker
  • Mannidex
  • Mannigen
  • Mannistol
  • Mannit
  • Mannite
  • MANNITOL
  • Mannitol (USP)
  • Mannitol 10%
  • Mannitol 10% In Plastic Container
  • MANNITOL 10% W/ DEXTROSE 5% IN DISTILLED WATER
  • Mannitol 15%
  • Mannitol 15% In Plastic Container
  • MANNITOL 15% W/ DEXTROSE 5% IN SODIUM CHLORIDE 0.45%
  • Mannitol 20%
  • Mannitol 20% In Plastic Container
  • MANNITOL 25%
  • Mannitol 5%
  • Mannitol 5% In Plastic Container
  • MANNITOL 5% W/ DEXTROSE 5% IN SODIUM CHLORIDE 0.12%
  • Mannitol, D-
  • Mannitolum
  • Mannogem 2080
  • Marine Crystal
  • Osmitrol
  • Osmitrol 10% In Water
  • OSMITROL 10% IN WATER IN PLASTIC CONTAINER
  • Osmitrol 15% In Water
  • OSMITROL 15% IN WATER IN PLASTIC CONTAINER
  • Osmitrol 20% In Water
  • OSMITROL 20% IN WATER IN PLASTIC CONTAINER
  • Osmitrol 5% In Water
  • OSMITROL 5% IN WATER IN PLASTIC CONTAINER
  • Osmosal
  • Resectisol
  • Resectisol In Plastic Container

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 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/mannitol.json