Nisin preparation

E number E234INS 234(i)CAS 1414-45-5

Used as a preservative.

Nisin is an antibacterial peptide made by a bacterium, used in processed cheese, canned foods and some dairy products. It is one of very few antibiotics permitted in food, and is effective against the spore-forming bacteria heat alone may not kill.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Nisin preparation 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 184.1538retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

19 food categories

highest permitted level 25 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.1.4 Flavoured Fluid Milk Drinks — 12.5 mg/kg
  • 01.4.3 Clotted cream (plain) — 10 mg/kg
  • 01.6.1 Unripened cheese — 12.5 mg/kg
  • 01.6.2 Ripened cheese — 12.5 mg/kg
  • 01.6.4 Processed cheese — 12.5 mg/kg
  • 01.6.5 Cheese analogues — 12.5 mg/kg
  • 01.6.6 Whey protein cheese — 12.5 mg/kg
  • 01.7 Dairy-based desserts (e.g. pudding, fruit or flavoured yoghurt) — 12.5 mg/kg
  • 06.5 Cereal and starch based desserts (e.g. rice pudding, tapioca pudding) — 3 mg/kg
  • 07.2 Fine bakery wares (sweet, salty, savoury) and mixes — 6.25 mg/kg
  • 08.2.2 Heat-treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts — 25 mg/kg
  • 08.3.2 Heat-treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 25 mg/kg
  • 08.4 Edible casings (e.g. sausage casings) — 7 mg/kg
  • 10.2.1 Liquid egg products — 6.25 mg/kg
  • 12.5.1 Ready-to-eat soups and broths, including canned, bottled, and frozen — 5 mg/kg
  • 12.6.1 Emulsified sauces and dips (e.g. mayonnaise, salad dressing, onion dips) — 5 mg/kg
  • 12.6.2 Non-emulsified sauces (e.g. ketchup, cheese sauce, cream sauce, brown gravy) — 5 mg/kg
  • 12.6.4 Clear sauces (e.g. fish sauce) — 5 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 — 5 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 234(i)and 18 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Produced by fermenting Lactococcus lactis, traditionally on a milk-based medium, and then concentrated. That fermentation substrate is why nisin preparations are not necessarily suitable for a dairy-free or vegan diet, and it is not usually declared.

  • 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
1414-45-5
InChIKey
NVNLLIYOARQCIX-GSJOZIGCSA-N
PubChem
CID 16129667

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E234

INS number

  • 234(i)

CAS registry number

  • 1414-45-5

As it appears in regulation

  • Nisin preparation

Other names

  • Ambicin N
  • DELVOPLUS
  • E 234
  • EN8XKG133D
  • INS NO.234
  • INS-234
  • Microgard MG 300
  • Nisaplin
  • Nisin
  • Nisin A
  • Nisitrol

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI0.13 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

  • ecfr retrieved 2026-09-07
  • 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/nisin-preparation.json