Polyoxyethylene (8) stearate

INS 430

Listed as an emulsifier by Canada and Codex.

Listed as emulsifiers (CA, Codex) · thickeners (CA) · stabilisers (CA)

Polyoxyethylene (8) stearate is an emulsifier and stabiliser, a shorter-chain relative of polyoxyethylene (40) stearate.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Polyoxyethylene (8) stearate by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New ZealandNo 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.
CanadaHealth CanadaPermitted, with conditions

highest permitted level 4,000 mg/kg

In: Unstandardized bakery products. Purpose: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent. Limit: 4,000 ppm.

Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4), item P.7retrieved 2026-10-17
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSANo 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 BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards ScotlandNo 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.
JapanConsumer Affairs AgencyNo 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 KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug SafetyNo 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 StatesFood and Drug AdministrationNot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

4 food categories

highest permitted level 5,000 mg/kg

Show every food category and its notes
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 200 mg/kg
  • 06.4.3 Pre-cooked pastas and noodles and like products — 5,000 mg/kg
    • Note 2 On the dry ingredient, dry weight, dry mix or concentrate basis.
    • Note 194 For use in instant noodles conforming to the Standard for Instant Noodles (CODEX STAN 249-2006) only.
    • Note XS364R Excluding use in products conforming to the Regional standard for quick-frozen dumplings (CXS 364R-2026).
  • 07.1 Bread and ordinary bakery wares and mixes — 3,000 mg/kg
  • 07.2 Fine bakery wares (sweet, salty, savoury) and mixes — 3,000 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 430and 3 further provisionsretrieved 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.

Canada4,000 mg/kg1 numeric limit
Codex Alimentarius200 mg/kg – 5,000 mg/kg4 numeric limit

What it is made from

Made by reacting stearic acid with ethylene oxide. The stearic acid may be plant or animal in origin.

  • 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.

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

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 430 Polyoxyethylene (8) Stearate

Consists of a mixture of the mono- and diesters of edible commercial stearic acid and mixed polyoxyethylene diols (having an average polymer length of about 7.5 oxyethylene units) together with free polyol.

Synonyms: Polyoxyl (8) stearate; INS No. 430

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

Specification history
Prepared at the 17th JECFA (1973), published in FNP 4 (1978) and in FNP 52 (1992). Metals and arsenic specifications revised at the 55th JECFA (2000). An ADI of 0-25 mg/kg bw was established at the 17th JECFA (1973)
C.A.S. number
9004-99-3
Structural formula
Nominal formula and approximate composition: free polyol monoester diester where RCO- is the fatty acid moiety, and "n" has an average value of approximately 7.5. The distribution of polymers is approximately in accordance with the Poisson expression.
Assay
Not less than 53.0 and not more than 57.0% of oxyethylene groups equivalent to not less than 96.0 and not more than 103.0% of polyoxyethylene (8) stearate calculated on the anhydrous basis. Cream-coloured, soft, waxy or pasty solid at 25 o , with a faint fatty odour
FUNCTIONAL USES
Emulsifier
METHOD OF ASSAY
Determine the content of Oxyethylene groups .

Identification

Solubility (Vol. 4)
Soluble in ethanol, methanol, acetone, ether, ethyl acetate and dioxane; dispersible in warm water; soluble with haze in mineral oil
Congealing range (Vol. 4)
27 - 29 o
Infrared absorption
The infrared spectrum of the sample is characteristic of a partial fatty acid ester of a polyoxyethylated polyol
Colour reaction
To 5 ml of a 5% (w/v) aqueous solution of the sample add 10 ml of ammonium cobaltothiocyanate solution and 5 ml of chloroform, shake well and allow to separate; a blue colour is produced in the chloroform layer. (Ammonium cobaltothiocyanate solution: 37.5 g of cobalt nitrate and 150 g of ammonium thiocyanate made up to 100 ml with water - freshly prepared).
Saponification (Vol. 4)
100 g of the sample yields approximately 44 g of fatty acids and 59 g of polyols

Purity criteria

Water (Vol. 4)
Not more than 3% (Karl Fischer Method)
Acid value (Vol. 4)
Not more than 2
Saponification value (Vol. 4)
Not less than 87 and not more than 97
Hydroxyl value (Vol. 4)
Not less than 85 and not more than 100
Lead (Vol. 4)
Not more than 2 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.”

FAO JECFA Monograph 1 (2006)

Every name it appears under

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

INS number

  • 430

Other names

  • Polyoxyethylene (8) stearate
  • POLYOXYETHYLENE STEARATES

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI25 mg/kg bw/day—JECFA1973

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 INS 430?
INS 430 is Polyoxyethylene (8) stearate. Polyoxyethylene (8) stearate is an emulsifier and stabiliser, a shorter-chain relative of polyoxyethylene (40) stearate.
What is Polyoxyethylene (8) stearate used for in food?
It is listed as an emulsifier — the role Canada and Codex assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Where is Polyoxyethylene (8) stearate permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada 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 Polyoxyethylene (8) stearate vegan?
It depends on the source, and a label will not tell you. Polyoxyethylene (8) stearate can be made from plant or animal material, manufacturers are not obliged to say which, and the same product can change between production runs. Anyone who needs to know has to ask the manufacturer.

Sources for this page

  • ca retrieved 2026-10-17
  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07
  • jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23

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