Papain
9001-73-4 · PapainCAS 9001-73-4
Listed as a flavour enhancer, a glazing agent and an enzyme by Codex and the US.
Listed as flavour enhancers (Codex) · glazing and surface-finishing agents (US) · enzymes (US) · texturisers (US) · formulation aids (US) · processing aids (US)
- Codex Alimentarius: Flavour enhancer — CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 1101(ii)
- United States: Surface-finishing agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: PAPAIN (CARICA PAPAYA L.)
- United States: Enzyme — FDA, Substances Added to Food: PAPAIN (CARICA PAPAYA L.)
- United States: Enzymes — 21 CFR 184.1585, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(9)
- United States: Texturizer — FDA, Substances Added to Food: PAPAIN (CARICA PAPAYA L.)
- United States: Texturizers — 21 CFR 184.1585, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(32)
- United States: Formulation aid — FDA, Substances Added to Food: PAPAIN (CARICA PAPAYA L.)
- United States: Processing aid — FDA, Substances Added to Food: PAPAIN (CARICA PAPAYA L.)
- United States: Processing aids — 21 CFR 184.1585, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(24)
Papain is a protein-digesting enzyme from papaya, used as a meat tenderiser and to stop beer hazing when chilled. It is a common active ingredient in meat tenderiser powders.
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 | No listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here. | ||
| 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 | Permitted | 21 CFR 184.1585retrieved 2026-10-17 | |
| Codex Alimentarius | Permitted | no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) | CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 1101(ii)retrieved 2026-09-07 |
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.
| United States | — | 1 no quantity stated |
|---|---|---|
| Codex Alimentarius | — | 1 GMP |
No regulator sets a figure for Papain. That is not an absence of control: where the listing says quantum satis or good manufacturing practice, the quantity is limited to what the effect requires.
What it is made from
Collected as latex from scored unripe papaya fruit, Carica papaya, then dried and purified.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 9001-73-4
How JECFA defines it
The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.
INS 1101(ii) Papain
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Specification history
- Prepared at the 15th JECFA (1971), published in NMRS 50B (1972) and in FNP 52 (1992). An ADI 'not limited' was established at the 15th JECFA (1971)
- SYNONYMS SOURCES
- INS No.1101(ii) Purified proteolytic substances derived from the fruit of Carica papaya (L) (Fam. Caricaceae ).
- Active principles
- 1. Papain (papaya peptidase I, cystein proteinase) 2. Chymopapain (cystein proteinase)
- Systematic names and numbers Reactions catalyzed
- 1. None (EC 3.4.22.2) 2. None (EC 3.4.22.6) These enzymes hydrolyze polypeptides, amides and esters, especially at linkages involving basic amino acids, or leucine or glycine, yielding peptides of lower molecular weight.
- DESCRIPTION
- White to light tan amorphous powder or liquids; soluble in water, the solutions being colourless to light yellow and somewhat opalescent; practically insoluble in alcohol, chloroform and ether
- FUNCTIONAL USES
- Enzyme preparation Used in the chillproofing of beer, tenderizing of meat, preparation of precooked cereals, and production of protein hydrolysates
- GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS Papain activity (Vol. 4)
- Must conform to the General Specifications for Enzyme Preparations used in Food Processing (see Volume 1, Introduction) The sample shows plant proteolytic activity
Every name it appears under
2 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
CAS registry number
- 9001-73-4
As it appears in regulation
- Papain
Hazard reference values
| Type | Value | Population | Assessed by | Opinion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADI | not limited | — | JECFA | 1971 |
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 Papain?
- Papain is a protein-digesting enzyme from papaya, used as a meat tenderiser and to stop beer hazing when chilled. It is a common active ingredient in meat tenderiser powders.
- What is Papain used for in food?
- It is listed as a flavour enhancer, a glazing agent and an enzyme — the role Codex and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Is Papain banned in Europe?
- No. Papain does not appear on the EU's list of authorised food additives, which is not the same as being banned: the EU permits an additive only where it has authorised it, and usually the reason for an absence is that no one applied. The EU has made no finding against this substance. It does mean it may not be used as a food additive in the EU today.
- Where is Papain permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, the US and the Codex standard permit it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
- Is Papain vegan?
- Yes. Papain is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17
- gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07
- jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23
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.
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