What is Sodium aluminosilicate used for in food?

It is listed as an anticaking agent — the role Canada, Codex and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.

Where is Sodium aluminosilicate permitted?

Of the seven regulators this site reads, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, the EU, Great Britain, South Korea, 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 Sodium aluminosilicate vegan?

Yes. Sodium aluminosilicate is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Sodium aluminosilicate

Q: What is E 554?

E 554 is Sodium aluminosilicate. Sodium aluminosilicate is an anticaking agent used in powdered products and table salt. It is a source of dietary aluminium.

E number E554INS 554CAS 12003-51-9

Listed as an anticaking agent by Canada, Codex and the US.

Listed as anticaking agents (CA, US, Codex) · humectants (US) · formulation aids (US)

Canada: Anticaking agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Anticaking Agents (List 1)
United States: Anticaking agent or free-flow agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM ALUMINUM SILICATE
Codex Alimentarius: Anticaking agent — CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 554
United States: Humectant — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM ALUMINUM SILICATE
United States: Formulation aid — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM ALUMINUM SILICATE

Structure from PubChem CID 61537 (National Library of Medicine, public domain). A depiction of one compound: where a listing covers a family, or a substance has no single structure, this page shows none.

Sodium aluminosilicate is an anticaking agent used in powdered products and table salt. It is a source of dietary aluminium.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Sodium aluminosilicate by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
Jurisdiction	Status	Scope and limits	Citation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New Zealand	Permitted, with conditions	55 food categories no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) Show every food category 0 Preparations of food additives — GMP 1.1.1 Liquid milk (including buttermilk) — GMPOnly UHT goats milk. 1.1.2 Liquid milk products and flavoured liquid milk — GMP 1.2.2 Fermented milk products and rennetted milk products — GMP 1.3 Condensed milk and evaporated milk — GMP 1.4.1 Cream, reduced cream and light cream — GMPOnly UHT creams and creams receiving equivalent or greater heat treatments. 1.4.2 Cream products (flavoured, whipped, thickened, sour cream etc) — GMP 1.5 Dried milk, milk powder, cream powder — GMP 1.6 Cheese and cheese products — GMP 10.2 Liquid egg products — GMP 10.3 Frozen egg products — GMP 10.4 Dried or heat coagulated egg products — GMP 11.1.1 Rainbow sugar — GMP 11.3.1 Dried honey — GMP 11.4 Tabletop sweeteners — GMP 12.1.1 Salt — GMP 12.1.2 Reduced sodium salt mixture — GMP 12.1.3 Salt substitute — GMP 12.5 Yeast and yeast products — GMP 12.6 Vegetable protein products — GMP 13.3 Formulated meal replacements and formulated supplementary foods — GMP 13.4 Formulated supplementary sports foods — GMP 13.5 Food for special medical purposes — GMP 14.1.1.2 Carbonated, mineralised and soda waters — GMP 14.1.2.1 Fruit and vegetable juices — GMPFor juice separated by other than mechanical means only. 14.1.2.2 Fruit and vegetable juice products — GMP 14.1.3 Water based flavoured drinks — GMP 14.1.4 Formulated Beverages — GMP 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions and similar products — GMP 14.2.3 Wine based drinks and reduced alcohol wines — GMP 14.2.4.1 Fruit wine products and vegetable wine products — GMP 14.2.5 Spirits and liqueurs — GMP 14.3 Alcoholic beverages not included in item 14.2 — GMP 2.1 Edible oils essentially free of water — GMP 2.2.1.2 Butter products — GMP 2.2.1.3 Margarine and similar products — GMP 2.2.2 Oil emulsions (<80% oil) — GMP 20 Foods not included in items 0 to 14 — GMP 3 Ice cream and edible ices — GMP 4.1.3 Fruits and vegetables that are peeled, cut, or both peeled and cut — GMP 4.3 Processed fruits and vegetables — GMP 5.1 Chocolate and cocoa products — GMP 5.2 Sugar confectionery — GMP 5.4 Icings and frostings — GMP 6.3 Processed cereal and meal products — GMP 6.4 Flour products (including noodles and pasta) — GMP 7 Breads and bakery products — GMP 8.2 Processed meat, poultry and game products in whole cuts or pieces — GMP 8.3 Processed comminuted meat, poultry and game products, other than products listed in item 8.3.2 — GMP 8.3.2 Sausage and sausage meat containing raw, unprocessed meat — GMP 8.4 Edible casings — GMP 8.5 Animal protein products — GMP 9.2 Processed fish and fish products — GMP 9.3 Semi preserved fish and fish products — GMP 9.4 Fully preserved fish including canned fish products — GMP	Food Standards Code, Schedule 15, S15—5and 54 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17
CanadaHealth Canada	Permitted, with conditions	highest permitted level 2 % 5 permitted uses Show every permitted use In: Dried egg-white; Dried whole egg; Dried whole egg mix; Dried yolk; Dried yolk mix. Purpose: Anticaking agent. Limit: 2.0%. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Anticaking Agents (List 1), item S.2(a) In: Garlic salt; Onion salt. Purpose: Anticaking agent. Limit: If used singly, the amount not to exceed 5,000 ppm. If used in any combination with other anticaking agents, the total combined amount not to exceed 5,000 ppm. Amendment notices: M-FAA-25-03. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Anticaking Agents (List 1), item S.2(b) In: Icing sugar. Purpose: Anticaking agent. Limit: Not to be used with starch in accordance with paragraph 15.1.5(b) of Volume 15 of the Food Compositional Standards Document. If used singly, the amount not to exceed 1.5%. If used in any combination with other anticaking agents, the total combined amount not to exceed 1.5%. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Anticaking Agents (List 1), item S.2(c) In: Salt. Purpose: Anticaking agent. Limit: If used singly, the amount not to exceed 1.0%, or 2.0% in the case of fine grained salt. If used in any combination with other anticaking agents, the total combined amount not to exceed 1.0%, or 2.0% in the case of fine grained salt. This total combined amount does not include any of propylene glycol, potassium ferrocyanide or sodium ferrocyanide that may be added up to their respective maximum levels of use set out in this list. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Anticaking Agents (List 1), item S.2(d) In: Unstandardized dry mixes. Purpose: Anticaking agent. Limit: 2.0%. Amendment notices: M-FAA-25-03. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Anticaking Agents (List 1), item S.2(e)	Health Canada, List of Permitted Anticaking Agents (List 1)and 4 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSA	Permitted, with conditions	1 food category ML = 20 mg/kg carry over in cheese mg/kg. Only for salt intended for surface treatment of ripened cheese, food category 01.7.2 Period of application: from 1 February 2014. Note 38: Expressed as aluminium.	Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II, as amended by (EU) No 380/2012retrieved 2026-10-18
Great BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards Scotland	Permitted, with conditions	1 food category Maximum level: 20 mg/kg carry over in cheese. Only for salt intended for surface treatment of ripened cheese, food category 01.7.2 Period of application: from 1 February 2014. Note (38): Expressed as aluminium.	Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II (as at 28 June 2024)retrieved 2026-10-18
JapanConsumer Affairs Agency	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 KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug Safety	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), 실리코알루민산나트륨 (“Sodium Silicoaluminate”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 실리코알루민산나트륨: 고결방지제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 실리코알루민산나트륨: (1) [may be used only in the foods listed; sets a limit on the amount used] “실리코알루민산나트륨은 아래의 식품에 한하여 사용하여야 한다. 실리코알루민산나트륨의 사용량은 알루미늄으로서 1. 가공소금 : 1.0g/kg 이하 2. 기타음료 : 0.4g/kg 이하 3. 식물성크림 : 0.6g/kg 이하 4. 기타코코아가공품 : 0.5g/kg 이하 5. 복합조미식품 : 1.0g/kg 이하” 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 StatesFood and Drug Administration	Permitted		21 CFR 182.2727retrieved 2026-10-17
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFA	Permitted, with conditions	9 food categories highest permitted level 1,140 mg/kg Show every food category and its notes 01.3.2 Beverage whiteners — 570 mg/kg Note 6 As aluminium. Note 260 For use in powdered beverage whiteners only. Note XS250 Excluding products conforming to the Standard for a Blend of Evaporated Skimmed Milk and Vegetable Fat (CODEX STAN 250-2006). Note XS252 Excluding products conforming to the Standard for a Blend of Sweetened Condensed Skimmed Milk and Vegetable Fat (CODEX STAN 252-2006). 01.5.1 Milk powder and cream powder (plain) — 265 mg/kg Note 6 As aluminium. Note 259 Singly or in combination: sodium aluminosilicate (INS 554) and calcium aluminium silicate (INS 556). 01.5.2 Milk and cream powder analogues — 570 mg/kg Note 6 As aluminium. 01.8.2 Dried whey and whey products, excluding whey cheeses — 1,140 mg/kg Note 6 As aluminium. Note XS331 Excluding products conforming to the Standard for Dairy Permeate Powders (CXS 331-2017). 05.3 Chewing gum — 100 mg/kg Note 6 As aluminium. Note 174 Singly or in combination: sodium aluminosilicate (INS 554), calcium aluminium silicate (INS 556), and aluminium silicate (INS 559). 12.1.1 Salt — 1,000 mg/kg Note 6 As aluminium. Note 254 For use in salt applied to dry salted cheeses during manufacturing only. 12.2.2 Seasonings and condiments — 1,000 mg/kg Note 6 As aluminium. Note 255 Except for use in seasonings applied to foods in food category 15.1 at 1 700 mg/kg. 12.5.2 Mixes for soups and broths — 570 mg/kg Note 6 As aluminium. Note XS117 Excluding products conforming to the Codex Standard for Bouillons and Consommés (CODEX STAN 117-1981). 12.6.3 Mixes for sauces and gravies — 570 mg/kg Note 6 As aluminium.	CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 554and 8 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.

Australia and New Zealand	—	55 GMP
Canada	20,000 mg/kg	2 numeric limit, 3 no quantity stated
European Union	—	1 no quantity stated
Great Britain	—	1 no quantity stated
South Korea	—	1 no quantity stated
United States	—	1 no quantity stated
Codex Alimentarius	100 mg/kg – 1,140 mg/kg	9 numeric limit

What it is made from

Produced synthetically by precipitating sodium silicate with an aluminium salt.

Vegan
Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number: 12003-51-9
InChIKey: OKSRBEMKUSZPOX-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem: CID 61537

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	stated in prose	no less than 66 %
Loss on drying	no more than 8 %	no more than 8 %
Lead	no more than 5 mg/kg	—
Arsenic	no more than 3 mg/kg	—
Mercury	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 554 Sodium aluminium silicate

Synonyms: Sodium silicoaluminate; Sodium aluminosilicate; Aluminium sodium silicate

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

Chemical name: Sodium aluminium silicate
Assay: Content on the anhydrous basis: — as SiO₂ not less than 66,0 % and not more than 88,0 % — as Al₂O₃ not less than 5,0 % and not more than 15,0 %
Description: Fine white amorphous powder or beads

Identification

Test for sodium: Passes test
Test for aluminium: Passes test
Test for silicate: Passes test
pH: Between 6,5 and 11,5 (5 % slurry)

Purity criteria

Loss on drying: Not more than 8,0 % (105 °C, 2 hours)
Loss on ignition: Not less than 5,0 % and not more than 11,0 % on the anhydrous basis (1 000 °C to constant weight)
Sodium: Not less than 5 % and not more than 8,5 % (as Na₂O) on the anhydrous basis
Arsenic: Not more than 3 mg/kg
Lead: Not more than 5 mg/kg
Mercury: Not more than 1 mg/kg

Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, Annex, E 554

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 554 Sodium Aluminium Silicate

Sodium aluminium silicate is a series of amorphous hydrated sodium aluminium silicates with varying proportions of Na 2 O, Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 . It is manufactured by reacting aluminium sulphate and sodium silicate followed by precipitation.

Synonyms: Sodium silicoaluminate; sodium aluminosilicate; aluminium sodium silicate; silicic acid, aluminium sodium salt; INS No. 554

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

Specification history: 1 out of 3 Prepared at the 84th JECFA and published in FAO JECFA Monograph 20 (2017), superseding tentative specifications prepared at the 80th JECFA (2015) and published in FAO JECFA Monographs 17 (2015). An ADI 'not specified' for silicon dioxide and certain silicates was established at the 29th JECFA (1985). A PTWI of 2 mg/kg bw for total aluminium was established at the 74th JECFA (2011). The PTWI applies to all aluminium compounds in food, including food additives.
Chemical names: Aluminium sodium silicate
C.A.S. number: 1344-00-9
Chemical formula: xSiO 2 · yAl 2 O 3 · zNa 2 O
Assay: Silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ): Not less than 66% and not more than 88%. Aluminium oxide (Al 2 O 3 ): Not less than 5% and not more than 15%. Sodium oxide (Na 2 O): Not less than 5% and not more than 8.5%. All values expressed on ignited basis.
DESCRIPTION: Odourless, fine, white amorphous powder, or as beads
FUNCTIONAL USES: Anticaking agent 2 out of 3
METHOD OF ASSAY: Weigh about 0.5 g of the sample to the nearest 0.1 mg, in a platinum or nickel crucible, add 5 g potassium hydroxide and 2 g boric acid, mix and melt completely using a torch burner and allow to stand at room temperature. Place the reaction product along with crucible into 150 mL hot deionized water in a 250-mL PTFE beaker and dissolve residue by agitation. Wash the crucible with hot deionized water and remove it. Add 50 mL hydrochloric acid and transfer the contents into a 250-mL polypropylene volumetric flask. Wash the beaker three times with hot deionized water, transfer the washings to the volumetric flask and make up to volume. Dilute with 2% hydrochloric acid and prepare the test solution. Analyse aluminium, sodium, and silica in the test solution by ICP-AES technique (Vol. 4). Set instrument parameters as specified by the instrument manufacturer. Use analytical lines for Al (396.152 nm), Na (589.52 nm) and Si (251.611 nm). Construct standard curve using standard solutions 0.2 – 5.0 μg/mL each. Read the concentration of Al, Na and Si, in sample solution (as μg/mL). Conduct as a blank determination following the above procedure. Calculate the content of aluminium oxide, sodium oxide and silicon dioxide in the sample using the formulas: 1.889 × ( 𝐶𝐶 − 𝐵𝐵 ) × 250 × 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 2 𝑂𝑂 3 (%) = 6 × 100 𝑊𝑊 × 10 1.348 × ( 𝐶𝐶 − 𝐵𝐵 ) × 250 × 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 2 𝑂𝑂 (%) = 6 × 100 𝑊𝑊 × 10 2.139 × ( 𝐶𝐶 − 𝐵𝐵 ) × 250 × 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑂𝑂 2 (%) = 6 × 100 𝑊𝑊 × 10 Where: - C (μg/mL) is concentration of Al or Na or Si in the test solution, - B (μg/mL) is concentration of Al or Na or Si in the blank solution, - W is weight of sample on the ignited basis, - DF is dilution factor

Identification

Solubility (Vol. 4): Insoluble in water.
Test for sodium: Passes test See description under TESTS
Test for aluminium: Passes test See description under TESTS
Test for silicon: Passes test See description under TESTS
Test for aluminium, sodium and silicon: Prepare the test solution as shown under method of assay. Analyse aluminium, sodium and silica in the test solution by ICP-AES technique (Vol. 4). Set instrument parameters as specified by the instrument manufacturer, use analytical lines for Al (396.15 nm), Na (589.52 nm) and Si (251.611 nm).

Purity criteria

pH (Vol. 4): 6.5 – 11.5 (5% slurry)
Loss on drying (Vol. 4): Not more than 8.0% (105°, 2 h).
Loss on ignition (Vol. 4): Not less than 5.0% and not more than 11.0% on the dried basis (1000°, constant weight).
Impurities soluble in 0.5 M hydrochloric acid: Lead: Not more than 5 mg/kg Arsenic: Not more than 3 mg/kg Mercury: Not more than 1 mg/kg See description under TESTS
Test: Impurities soluble in 0.5 M hydrochloric acid: Extract a known quantity of finely ground sample using closed system digestion (to prevent loss of arsenic and mercury) with 0.5 M hydrochloric acid (spectroscopic grade) for 30 min. Let solution cool, then filter through a 0.1 μm membrane filter. Wash the filter twice with 0.5 M hydrochloric acid. Combine the filtrate and wash solution and make up to a known volume with 3 out of 3 0.5 M hydrochloric acid. Determine using a method appropriate to the specified level

FAO JECFA Monograph 20 (2017)

Authorised in other additives, enzymes, flavourings and nutrients

These authorisations are not for use in food. They let this substance be used inside another additive, a food enzyme, a flavouring or a nutrient preparation — often as a carrier — and it reaches food only as part of that product. Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008.

Part	May be used in	Maximum level	Citation
Annex III, Part 5, Section A: Food additives added in nutrients except in nutrients intended to be used in foodstuffs listed in Part E, point 01.10, of Annex II and foodstuffs for infants and young children listed in Part E, point 13.1, of Annex II	In fat soluble vitamin preparations	15 000 mg/kg in the preparation	Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex III, Part 5, Section A

Every name it appears under

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

E number

E554

INS number

CAS registry number

12003-51-9

As it appears in regulation

Sodium aluminium silicate
Sodium aluminosilicate

Other names

Aluminium sodium orthosilicate (1/1/1)
Aluminium sodium silicate
Aluminum sodium silicate (1:1:1)
E 554
OKSRBEMKUSZPOX-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Silicic acid (H4SiO4), aluminum sodium salt (1:1:1)
Sodium aluminium silicate
Sodium aluminium silicate(1:1:1)
Sodium aluminosilicate
Sodium silicoaluminate

Systematic names

Aluminum sodium silicate

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
Type	Value	Population	Assessed by	Opinion
ADI	not specified	—	JECFA	2017

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 2020
The FAF Panel concluded that the safety of sodium aluminium silicate (E 554) and potassium aluminium silicate (E 555) could not be assessed because toxicological data and physicochemical characterisation were very limited. It noted that aluminium exposure from these uses could exceed EFSA's tolerable weekly intake for aluminium.
Source document

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 554?: E 554 is Sodium aluminosilicate. Sodium aluminosilicate is an anticaking agent used in powdered products and table salt. It is a source of dietary aluminium.
What is Sodium aluminosilicate used for in food?: It is listed as an anticaking agent — the role Canada, Codex and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Where is Sodium aluminosilicate permitted?: Of the seven regulators this site reads, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, the EU, Great Britain, South Korea, 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 Sodium aluminosilicate vegan?: Yes. Sodium aluminosilicate 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
eu retrieved 2026-10-18
gb retrieved 2026-10-18
kr retrieved 2026-10-18
ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17
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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