Milk-clotting enzymes, microbial

These are the microbial milk-clotting enzymes used to make cheese without animal rennet. A cheese described as suitable for vegetarians has usually been set with one of these or with fermentation-produced chymosin.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Milk-clotting enzymes, microbial by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted, with conditions21 CFR 173.150retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

What it is made from

Produced by fermenting fungi such as Rhizomucor miehei. They clot milk in the same way as rennet but involve no animal.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Every name it appears under

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

As it appears in regulation

  • Milk-clotting enzymes, microbial

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

  • ecfr 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/milk-clotting-enzymes-microbial.json