Quillaia extract type 2
Quillaia extract type 2 · 999(ii)INS 999(ii)
Listed as an emulsifier by Canada and Codex.
Listed as emulsifiers (CA, Codex) · foaming and whipping agents (Codex)
- Canada: Emulsifying agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Codex Alimentarius: Emulsifier — CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 999(ii)
- Codex Alimentarius: Foaming agent — CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 999(ii)
Quillaia extract is a foaming agent, the reason a root beer or a cocktail mixer holds a head. The foaming compounds are saponins — the plant's own soap, which is what the bark was used for before it was a food additive.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | Permitted, with conditions | 8 food categories highest permitted level 40 mg/kg Show every food category
| Food Standards Code, Schedule 15, S15—5and 7 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17 |
| Canada | Permitted, with conditions | no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) 4 permitted uses Show every permitted use
| Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)and 3 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 | Permitted, with conditions | 1 food category highest permitted level 50 mg/kg Note 132 Except for use in semi-frozen beverages at 130 mg/kg on a dried basis. Note 293 On the saponin basis. | CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 999(ii), food category 14.1.4retrieved 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.
| Australia and New Zealand | 30 mg/kg – 40 mg/kg | 8 numeric limit |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | — | 4 GMP |
| Codex Alimentarius | 50 mg/kg | 1 numeric limit |
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. 903 · Quillaia extract type 2 · Naturex SA
Intended use: Intended for use as an emulsifier in beverages, alcoholic; beverage and beverage bases; chewing gum; coffee and tea; condiments and relishes; confections and frostings; dairy product analogs; fats and oils; frozen dairy desserts; fruit and water ices; hard candy; jams and jellies; soft candy; and dietary supplements (non-dietary ingredient use) at levels ranging from 30 to 185 mg/100g.
FDA’s response (2021-04-21): FDA has no questions
What it is made from
Extracted from the inner bark of Quillaja saponaria, the soapbark tree of Chile. Type 2 is the more purified grade.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
Every name it appears under
2 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
INS number
- 999(ii)
Other names
- Quillaia extract type 2
Hazard reference values
| Type | Value | Population | Assessed by | Opinion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADI | 1 mg quillaia saponins/kg bw/day | — | JECFA | 2005 |
Evidence and how bodies read it
What assessing bodies concluded
Each conclusion is paraphrased in the body's own framing, from the published opinion linked beneath it. Where bodies differ, both stand; this site does not adjudicate between them or add a view of its own.
EFSA 2024
In a follow-up, the FAF Panel concluded that a proposed extension of use of Quillaia extract (E 999) in food supplements could result in exceedance of the ADI of 3 mg saponins/kg bw/day for several population groups, and could not evaluate a proposed use as a carrier for glazing agents. It recommended lower limits for toxic elements and new limits for cadmium and calcium oxalate.
EFSA 2019
The ANS Panel found no genotoxicity concern for Quillaia extract (E 999) and derived an ADI of 3 mg saponins/kg bw/day from a two-year rat study. Refined exposure estimates, including a proposed extension of use in flavourings, did not exceed the ADI, and it recommended revising the specifications to distinguish extracts by saponin content.
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 999(ii)?
- INS 999(ii) is Quillaia extract type 2. Quillaia extract is a foaming agent, the reason a root beer or a cocktail mixer holds a head. The foaming compounds are saponins — the plant's own soap, which is what the bark was used for before it was a food additive.
- What is Quillaia extract type 2 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 Quillaia extract type 2 permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, Australia and New Zealand, 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 Quillaia extract type 2 vegan?
- Yes. Quillaia extract type 2 is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- anz retrieved 2026-10-17
- ca retrieved 2026-10-17
- gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07
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