Mono- and diglycerides

This is the United States listing for mono- and diglycerides, the most widely used emulsifiers in food. They hold fat and water together in bread, margarine, ice cream and countless processed foods.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Mono- and diglycerides by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 184.1505retrieved 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

Made by reacting fats or oils with glycerol. The fat may be vegetable or animal, manufacturers need not declare which, and the same product may change source between batches.

  • 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.

Every name it appears under

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

As it appears in regulation

  • 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 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/mono-and-diglycerides.json