Sodium caseinate
Sodium caseinateCAS 9005-46-3
Listed as an emulsifier, a thickener and an acidity regulator by the US.
Listed as emulsifiers (US) · thickeners (US) · acidity regulators (US) · stabilisers (US) · anticaking agents (US) · nutrient supplements (US) · flavouring agents and adjuvants (US) · texturisers (US) · formulation aids (US) · solvents and vehicles (US)
- United States: Emulsifier or emulsifier salt — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM CASEINATE
- United States: Stabilizer or thickener — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM CASEINATE
- United States: pH control agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM CASEINATE
- United States: Stabilizer or thickener — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM CASEINATE
- United States: Anticaking agent or free-flow agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM CASEINATE
- United States: Nutrient supplement — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM CASEINATE
- United States: Flavoring agent or adjuvant — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM CASEINATE
- United States: Texturizer — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM CASEINATE
- United States: Formulation aid — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM CASEINATE
- United States: Solvent or vehicle — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM CASEINATE
Sodium caseinate is a milk protein used as an emulsifier, whitener and protein source. It is why many non-dairy creamers are not milk-free: US labelling rules allow the term on products containing caseinate, provided it is identified as a milk derivative.
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 | Permitted, with conditions | Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 101, カゼインナトリウム (“Sodium Caseinate” in the unofficial English translation). …Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 101, カゼインナトリウム (“Sodium Caseinate” in the unofficial English translation). Standards for use — Specifications and Standards for Foods, Food Additives, etc. (MHW Notification No. 370 of 1959), Part II (Food Additives), F (Standards for use): The Notification sets no standard for use (使用基準) for this additive, so it is not restricted there to particular foods or amounts. Compositional specifications for this additive, in the same Notification, are not imported and are not shown here; nor are the general rules in F 添加物一般, which apply to every additive. | Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act (MHW Ordinance No. 23 of 1948), Appended Table 1retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| 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), 카제인나트륨 (“Sodium Caseinate”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 카제인나트륨: 유화제, 증점제, 안정제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 카제인나트륨: (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 | Permitted | 21 CFR 182.1748retrieved 2026-10-17 | |
| Codex Alimentarius | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. |
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.
| Japan | — | 1 no quantity stated |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | — | 1 no quantity stated |
| United States | — | 1 no quantity stated |
No regulator sets a figure for Sodium caseinate. 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
Made by precipitating casein from skimmed milk with acid and neutralising with sodium hydroxide. It is a declarable milk allergen.
- Not vegan
- Vegetarian
- May raise a kosher question
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
Allergen labelling
- From milk. Made from casein, the main protein of milk.
The EU’s list of allergens an ingredients list must emphasise is Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II (consolidated text of 1 April 2025). Whether a product must declare one depends on what its additive was actually made from, which the label may not show; see the allergen origin index.
- CAS registry number
- 9005-46-3
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.
Sodium Caseinate
An addition compound of sodium and casein. The article of commerce may be further specified by maximum limits of fat and lactose content, or other chemical or microbiological requirement (for example requirement concerning selected pathogenic organisms including Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium spp. and mould spores).
Synonyms: Casein-sodium
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Specification history
- Prepared at the 13th JECFA (1970), published in NMRS 48B (1971) and in FNP 52 (1992). Metals and arsenic specifications revised at the 61st JECFA (2003). An ADI 'not limited' was established at the 14th JECFA (1970)
- C.A.S. number
- 9005-46-3
- Assay
- Not less than 12.6% of nitrogen after drying
- DESCRIPTION
- White or pale yellow granules or powder; practically odourless
- FUNCTIONAL USES
- Emulsifier, stabilizer
- METHOD OF ASSAY
- Weigh about 0.15 g of the dried sample and proceed as directed under the Nitrogen Determination (Kjeldahl Method) (see Volume 4). Each ml of 0.1 N sulfuric acid is equivalent to 1.401 mg of nitrogen.
Identification
- Solubility (Vol. 4)
- Disperses slowly with some turbidity in water; soluble in boiling water; insoluble in ethanol
- Test for protein
- Emits on ignition a characteristic and disagreeable odour, and leaves a residue which is alkaline to litmus
- Biuret reaction
- Dissolve 0.1 g in 10 ml of sodium hydroxide TS, add 1 drop of cupric sulfate TS, and shake. A blue precipitate is formed, and a violet colour is produced
- Isoelectric point precipitation
- Dissolve 0.1 g in 10 ml of sodium hydroxide TS, and acidify slightly with acetic acid. A white precipitate is formed
- Colour reaction
- To 0.1 g add 5 ml of water, shake, add 10 drops of mercuric nitrate TS and 1 drop of sodium nitrate TS, and heat in a water bath for 3 min. A reddish brown violet colour is produced on the surface of swelled sodium caseinate.
Purity criteria
- Loss on drying (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 15% (100 o , 3h)
- Solubility in water
- To 0.1 g dried (over sulfuric acid in a vacuum desiccator for 4 h) and finely powdered sample, add 30 ml of water, shake and allow to stand for 10 min. Add 2 ml of 0.1 N sodium hydroxide, warm at 40 o , and dissolve by shaking. Cool, add water to 100 ml. The solution is colourless, and shows no more turbidity than slightly turbid.
- pH (Vol. 4)
- 6.5 - 7.5 (1 in 50 soln)
- Sulfated ash (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 6% on dry basis Test 1 g of the sample
- Microbiological criteria (Vol. 4)
- Standard plate count < MPN = 10 4 /g Enterobacteriaceae or bacteria of the coli-aerogenes group < MPN = 10 /g Lancefield group D streptococci < MPN = 10 2 /g (These criteria are tentative only. More information required).
- 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.”
Every name it appears under
1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.
As it appears in regulation
- Sodium caseinate
Hazard reference values
| Type | Value | Population | Assessed by | Opinion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADI | not limited | — | JECFA | 1970 |
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 Sodium caseinate?
- Sodium caseinate is a milk protein used as an emulsifier, whitener and protein source. It is why many non-dairy creamers are not milk-free: US labelling rules allow the term on products containing caseinate, provided it is identified as a milk derivative.
- What is Sodium caseinate used for in food?
- It is listed as an emulsifier, a thickener and an acidity regulator — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Is Sodium caseinate banned in Europe?
- No. Sodium caseinate 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 Sodium caseinate permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, Japan, South Korea and the US 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 caseinate vegan?
- No. Sodium caseinate is animal-derived, though it is generally accepted as vegetarian. This page says what it is made from.
Sources for this page
- jp retrieved 2026-10-18
- kr retrieved 2026-10-18
- ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17
- jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23
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