Monoglycerides
MonoglyceridesListed as an emulsifier, a thickener and a stabiliser by Canada.
Listed as emulsifiers (CA) · thickeners (CA) · stabilisers (CA) · humectants (CA) · antifoaming agents (CA) · lubricants and release agents (CA)
- Canada: Emulsifying agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Canada: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Canada: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Canada: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Canada: Stabilizing agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Canada: Humectant — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8)
- Canada: Antifoaming agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8)
- Canada: Release agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8)
Monoglycerides are glycerol carrying a single fatty acid, the most widely used emulsifiers in food. Health Canada lists them separately from the mono- and diglyceride mixtures, which contain both.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | No 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. | ||
| Canada | Permitted, with conditions | highest permitted level 5,000 mg/kg 17 permitted uses Show every permitted use
| Health Canadaand 16 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17 |
| European Union | No 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 Britain | No 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. | ||
| Japan | No 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 Korea | No 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 States | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. | ||
| Codex Alimentarius | Not 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.
| Canada | 5,000 mg/kg | 1 numeric limit, 6 GMP, 10 no quantity stated |
|---|
GRAS notices to the FDA
A GRAS notice is a company’s conclusion that a substance is generally recognised as safe for the use it describes. FDA’s letter responds to that conclusion, for that notifier and that use. It is not a listing in 21 CFR, and it is not counted as a US permission above. The substance and use are as FDA’s inventory words them; this site matched the notice to this page by exact name.
GRN No. 648 · Monoglycerides · Apeel Sciences
Intended use: For use as a surface-finishing agent and/or texturizer, creating a thin and edible physical barrier against moisture loss and oxidation to protect the freshness and extend the shelf-life of agricultural products such as fruits (e.g., berries, grapes, stone fruit, citrus, bananas, mangoes, avocados) and vegetables (e.g., legumes, roots, tubers) when applied to their surfaces.
FDA’s response (2016-12-13): FDA has no questions
What it is made from
Made by reacting fats or oils with glycerol and then separating the monoglycerides, usually by distillation. The fat may be of vegetable or animal origin.
Every name it appears under
1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.
Other names
- Monoglycerides
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 Monoglycerides?
- Monoglycerides are glycerol carrying a single fatty acid, the most widely used emulsifiers in food. Health Canada lists them separately from the mono- and diglyceride mixtures, which contain both.
- What is Monoglycerides 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 Monoglycerides 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 Monoglycerides:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.