Polyglycitol syrup
E 964 · hydrogenated glucose syrup · Hydrogenated starch hydrolysate · polyglucitol · Polyglycitol Syrup · E964 · Polyglycitol syrup · Jarabe de poliglicitol · Poliglicīta sīrups · Poligliucitolio sirupas · Poliglucitszirup · Polyglycitol syrup · Polyglycitolový sirup · Polyglycitolsirap · Polyglycitolsirup · Polyglycitolstroop · Polyglysitolisiirappi · Polüglütsitoolsiirup · Sciroppo di poliglicitolo · Sirop de poliglicitol · Sirop de polyglycitol · Sirup poliglicitola · Syrop poliglucitolowy · Xarope de poliglicitol · Xiropp poligliċitol · XIROPP TAL-POLIGLIĊITOL · ΣΙΡΟΠΙ ΠΟΛΥΓΛΥΣΙΤΟΛΗΣ · Σιρόπι πολυγλυκιτόλης · Полиглицитолов сиропE number E964INS 964
Listed as a sweetener by Canada, Codex and the EU.
Listed as sweeteners (CA, EU, Codex)
- Canada: Sweetener — Health Canada, List of Permitted Sweeteners (List 9)
- European Union: Sweeteners — Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II, Part B, 2. Sweeteners (consolidated text 02008R1333-20260818)
- Codex Alimentarius: Sweetener — CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 964
Polyglycitol syrup is a bulk sweetener made up of a mixture of hydrogenated saccharides rather than a single compound. It is used in sugar-free confectionery and baked goods, often described on labels as hydrogenated starch hydrolysate.
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 | no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) In: Unstandardized foods. Purpose: Sweetener. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. | Health Canada, List of Permitted Sweeteners (List 9), item H.1retrieved 2026-10-17 |
| European Union | Permitted, with conditions | 11 food categories highest permitted level 600,000 mg/l Show every food category
| Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008and 10 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-18 |
| Great Britain | Permitted, with conditions | 10 food categories highest permitted level 500,000 mg/kg or mg/l Show every food category
| Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008and 9 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-18 |
| 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 | Permitted, with conditions | Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 1. …Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 1. 일반식품첨가물 (general food additives), 폴리글리시톨시럽 (“Polyglycitol Syrup”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 폴리글리시톨시럽: 감미료, 습윤제, 안정제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 폴리글리시톨시럽: (1) [to be used under the general standard for use in II. 2. 1), the minimum amount that achieves the technical effect, with no limit set for this additive in particular] “II. 2. 1)의 규정에 따라 사용하여야 한다.” The Korean is the standard as published. There is no official English translation of the current Code (the English version on MFDS’s website is the 2020 edition and has no legal effect); the English in square brackets is this site’s description of what each sentence does, not a translation of the foods or the levels. Compositional specifications (Part IV) are not imported, nor are the general standards in Part II, which apply to every additive. | Standards and Specifications for Food Additives (식품첨가물의 기준 및 규격), MFDS Notification, Part III (Standards for use, by item)retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| United States | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. | ||
| Codex Alimentarius | Permitted | no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) | CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 964retrieved 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.
| Canada | — | 1 GMP |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | 200,000 mg/kg – 600,000 mg/kg | 11 numeric limit |
| Great Britain | 200,000 mg/kg – 500,000 mg/kg | 9 numeric limit, 1 several limits |
| South Korea | — | 1 no quantity stated |
| Codex Alimentarius | — | 1 GMP |
What a label must say
Words a food containing Polyglycitol syrup is obliged to carry, quoted from the instrument that imposes them. A required statement is a fact about the regulation, not a finding about the substance — every rule below applies where the additive is authorised.
‘with sweetener(s)’, or ‘with sugar(s) and sweetener(s)’ where the food also contains added sugar. The statement accompanies the name of the food.
Any food containing an authorised sweetener. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex III, points 2.1 and 2.2 · Assimilated Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex III
‘excessive consumption may produce laxative effects’.
A food containing more than 10 % added polyols. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex III, point 2.4 · Assimilated Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex III
Every rule collected at what a label must say.
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. 59 · Hydrogenated starch hydrolysate · Grain Processing Corporation
Intended use: Use in foods in general as a flavoring agent, adjuvant, formulation aid, humectant, processing aid, stabilizer, thickener, surface-finishing agent, or texturizer at levels not to exceed good manufacturing practice
FDA’s response (2001-09-24): At the notifier's request, FDA ceased to evaluate this notice
What it is made from
Produced by hydrogenating a starch hydrolysate, so its composition follows the starch syrup it was made from — mostly maltitol and sorbitol with longer hydrogenated chains alongside.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
The two specifications, compared
The European Union sets identity and purity by regulation; JECFA publishes its own through FAO, advisory until a country adopts it. Both documents are below in full. These are the parameters each puts a number on.
| Parameter | European Union | JECFA |
|---|---|---|
| Assay | no less than 99 % | no less than 99 % |
| Sulphated ash | — | no more than 0.1 % |
| Lead | no more than 1 mg/kg | no more than 1 mg/kg |
The two documents state the same figures for every parameter compared here.
How the EU defines it
The legal specification an additive must meet to be sold as this E number in the EU — what it is, how it may be made, and the purity it must reach. From Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012.
E 964 Polyglycitol syrup
A mixture consisting mainly of maltitol and sorbitol and lesser amounts of hydrogenated oligo- and polysaccharides and maltrotriitol. It is manufactured by the catalytic hydrogenation of a mixture of starch hydrolysates consisting of glucose, maltose and higher glucose polymers, similar to the catalytic hydrogenation process used for the manufacture of maltitol syrup. The resulting syrup is desalted by ion exchange and concentrated to the desired level.
Synonyms: Hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, hydrogenated glucose syrup and polyglucitol
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Chemical name
- Sorbitol: D-glucitol Maltitol: (α)-D-Glucopyranosyl-1,4-D-glucitol
- Chemical formula
- Sorbitol: C₆H₁₄O₆ Maltitol: C₁₂H₂₄O₁₁
- Molecular weight
- Sorbitol: 182,2 Maltitol: 344,3
- Assay
- Content not less than 99 % of total hydrogenated saccharides on the anhydrous basis, not less than 50 % higher molecular weight polyols, not more than 50 % of maltitol and not more than 20 % of sorbitol on the anhydrous basis.
- Description
- Colourless and odourless clear viscous liquid
Identification
- Solubility
- Very soluble in water and slightly soluble in ethanol
- Test for maltitol
- Passes test
- Test for sorbitol
- To 5 g of the sample add 7 ml of methanol, 1 ml of benzaldehyde and 1 ml of hydrochloric acid. Mix and shake in a mechanical shaker until crystals appear. Filter the crystals and dissolve in 20 ml of boiling water containing 1 g of sodium bicarbonate. Filter the crystals, wash with 5 ml of a water-methanol mixture (1 in 2) and dry in the air. The crystals of the monobenzylidine derivative of sorbitol so obtained melt between 173 and 179 °C.
Purity criteria
- Water content
- Not more than 31 % (Karl Fischer method)
- Chlorides
- Not more than 50 mg/kg
- Sulphates
- Not more than 100 mg/kg
- Reducing sugars
- Not more than 0,3 %
- Nickel
- Not more than 2 mg/kg
- Lead
- Not more than 1 mg/kg
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.
Polyglycitol Syrup
A mixture consisting mainly of maltitol and sorbitol and lesser amounts of hydrogenated oligo and polysaccharides and maltrotriitol. Manufactured by the catalytic hydrogenation of a mixture consisting of glucose, maltose, and higher glucose polymers; typically supplied as a syrup; may also be dried and supplied as a solid product
Synonyms: Hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, polyglucitol Hydrogenated starch hydrolysate; Polyglucitol
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Specification history
- Prepared at the 51st JECFA (1998) and published in FNP 52 Add 6 (1998). Group ADI "not specified" for polyglycitol and maltitol syrups, established at the 51st JECFA in 1998.
- Assay
- Not less than 99.0% of total hydrogenated saccharides on the anhydrous basis and not more than 50.0% of maltitol and not more than 20.0% of sorbitol on the anhydrous basis.
- DESCRIPTION
- Colourless and odourless, clear viscous liquids or white crystalline masses
- FUNCTIONAL USES
- Sweetener, humectant, texturizer, stabilizer, bulking agent
- METHOD OF ASSAY
- Total hydrogenated saccharides (%): Determine the maltitol and sorbitol content using liquid chromatography. Apparatus Liquid chromatograph (HPLC) - Detection: Differential refractometer maintained at constant temperature - Integrator recorder - Column: AMINEX HPX 87 C or equivalent, (resin in calcium form), length 30 cm, internal diameter 9 mm - Eluent: Double distilled degassed water (filtered through Millipore membrane filter or equivalent, 0.45 μm) Chromatographic conditions Column temperature: 85±0.5 o Eluent flow rate: 0.5 ml/min Standard preparation: Dissolve accurately weighed quantities of standard reference maltitol and sorbitol (available from US Pharmacopeial Convention, Inc., 12601 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville, MD 20852, USA) in water to obtain a solution having known concentration of about 10.0 mg of maltitol and 5.0 mg of sorbitol per ml. Sample preparation: Transfer about 1 g of the sample accurately weighed to a 50-ml volumetric flask, dilute with water to volume and mix. Filter through a 0.2 micron filter. Procedure: Separately inject equal volumes (about 20 μl) of the sample preparation and the standard preparation into the chromatograph. Record the chromatograms and measure the responses of each polyol (maltitol, sorbitol) peak. Calculate separately the quantities, in mg, of maltitol and sorbitol in the portion of syrup taken by the following formula: where C = the concentration, in mg per ml, of the corresponding polyol in the standard preparation R U = the peak response of the polyol in the sample preparation RS = the peak response of the corresponding polyol in the standard preparation.
Identification
- Solubility (Vol. 4)
- Very soluble in water; slightly soluble in ethanol
- Test for maltitol
- Passes test for maltitol as directed under Thin Layer Chromatography of Polyols Use the following: Standard solution: Dissolve 50 mg of reference standard maltitol (available from US Pharmacopeial Convention, Inc. 12601 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville, MD 20852, USA) in 20 ml water Test solution: Dissolve 50 mg of the sample in 20 ml of water
- Test for sorbitol
- To 5 g of the sample add 7 ml of methanol, 1 ml of benzaldehyde, and 1 ml of hydrochloric acid. Mix and shake in a mechanical shaker until crystals appear. Filter the crystals and dissolve in 20 ml of boiling water containing 1 g of sodium bicarbonate. Filter the hot solution and allow to cool until crystals are formed. Filter the crystals, wash with 5 ml of a water-methanol mixture (1 in 2), and dry in air. The crystals of the monobenzylidine derivative of sorbitol so obtained melt between 173 and 179º.
Purity criteria
- Water (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 31% (Karl Fischer Method)
- Sulfated ash (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 0.1% Test 3 g of the sample (Method I)
- Chlorides (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 50 mg/kg Test 10 g of sample by the Limit Test using 1.5 ml of 0.01N hydrochloric acid in the control
- Sulfates (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 100 mg/kg Test 10 g of sample by the Limit Test using 2.0 ml of 0.01N sulfuric acid in the control
- Nickel (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 2 mg/kg Proceed as directed under Nickel in Polyols
- Reducing sugars
- Not more than 0.3% Proceed as directed under Reducing Substances (as glucose ), Method II. The weight of cuprous oxide shall not exceed 50 mg
- Lead (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 1 mg/kg Determine using an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the method described in Volume 4, “Instrumental Methods.”
Every name it appears under
29 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
E number
- E964
As it appears in regulation
- Polyglycitol syrup
Other names
- E 964
- hydrogenated glucose syrup
- Hydrogenated starch hydrolysate
- polyglucitol
- Polyglycitol Syrup
Hazard reference values
| Type | Value | Population | Assessed by | Opinion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADI | not specified | — | JECFA | 1998 |
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 E 964?
- E 964 is Polyglycitol syrup. Polyglycitol syrup is a bulk sweetener made up of a mixture of hydrogenated saccharides rather than a single compound. It is used in sugar-free confectionery and baked goods, often described on labels as hydrogenated starch hydrolysate.
- What is Polyglycitol syrup used for in food?
- It is listed as a sweetener — the role Canada, Codex and the EU assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Where is Polyglycitol syrup permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada, the EU, Great Britain, South Korea 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 Polyglycitol syrup vegan?
- Yes. Polyglycitol syrup is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- ca retrieved 2026-10-17
- eu retrieved 2026-10-18
- gb retrieved 2026-10-18
- kr retrieved 2026-10-18
- gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07
- euspecs retrieved 2026-10-18
- jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23
Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.
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