Sodium stearoyl lactylate

E number E481INS 481(i)CAS 25383-99-7

Used as an emulsifier — Codex also lists it as flour treatment agent, foaming agent, stabilizer.

Sodium stearoyl lactylate is a dough strengthener and emulsifier used in bread, buns and tortillas. Along with DATEM it is one of the two emulsifiers most likely to be in a supermarket loaf.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Sodium stearoyl lactylate by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted, with conditions21 CFR 172.846retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

41 food categories

highest permitted level 10,000 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.1.4 Flavoured Fluid Milk Drinks — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 01.3.2 Beverage whiteners — 3,000 mg/kg
  • 01.4.4 Cream analogues — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 01.6.5 Cheese analogues — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 01.7 Dairy-based desserts (e.g. pudding, fruit or flavoured yoghurt) — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 02.1.2 Vegetable oils and fats — 300 mg/kg
  • 02.2.2 Fat spreads, dairy fat spreads and blended spreads — 10,000 mg/kg
  • 02.3 Fat emulsions mainly of type oil-in-water, including mixed and/or flavoured products based on fat emulsions — 3,000 mg/kg
  • 02.4 Fat-based desserts excluding dairy-based dessert products of food category 01.7 — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 03.0 Edible ices, including sherbet and sorbet — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.11 Fruit fillings for pastries — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.8 Fruit preparations, including pulp, purees, fruit toppings and coconut milk — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.9 Fruit-based desserts, incl. fruit-flavoured water-based desserts — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.2 Dried vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 05.2 Confectionery including hard and soft candy, nougats, etc. other than food categories 05.1, 05.3, and 05.4 — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 05.4 Decorations (e.g. for fine bakery wares), toppings (non-fruit), and sweet sauces — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 06.2.1 Flours — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 06.3 Breakfast cereals, including rolled oats — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 06.4.2 Dried pastas and noodles and like products — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 06.4.3 Pre-cooked pastas and noodles and like products — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 06.5 Cereal and starch based desserts (e.g. rice pudding, tapioca pudding) — 6,000 mg/kg
  • 07.1.1.1 Yeast-leavened breads and specialty breads — 3,000 mg/kg
  • 07.1.1.2 Soda breads — 3,000 mg/kg
  • 07.1.2 Crackers, excluding sweet crackers — 3,000 mg/kg
  • 07.1.3 Other ordinary bakery products (e.g. bagels, pita, English muffins) — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 07.1.4 Bread-type products, including bread stuffing and bread crumbs — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 07.1.5 Steamed breads and buns — 3,000 mg/kg
  • 07.1.6 Mixes for bread and ordinary bakery wares — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 07.2 Fine bakery wares (sweet, salty, savoury) and mixes — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 08.2.2 Heat-treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 08.3.2 Heat-treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 10.2.1 Liquid egg products — 500 mg/kg
  • 10.2.2 Frozen egg products — 500 mg/kg
  • 10.2.3 Dried and/or heat coagulated egg products — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 12.6.1 Emulsified sauces and dips (e.g. mayonnaise, salad dressing, onion dips) — 2,500 mg/kg
  • 12.6.2 Non-emulsified sauces (e.g. ketchup, cheese sauce, cream sauce, brown gravy) — 2,500 mg/kg
  • 13.3 Dietetic foods intended for special medical purposes (excluding products of food category 13.1) — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 13.4 Dietetic formulae for slimming purposes and weight reduction — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 14.2.6 Distilled spirituous beverages containing more than 15% alcohol — 8,000 mg/kg
  • 15.1 Snacks - potato, cereal, flour or starch based (from roots and tubers, pulses and legumes) — 5,000 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 481(i)and 40 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Made by reacting stearic acid with lactic acid and neutralising with sodium. The stearic acid may come from plant oils or from animal fat, and the label will not say which.

  • 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.

CAS registry number
25383-99-7
InChIKey
ODFAPIRLUPAQCQ-UHFFFAOYSA-M
PubChem
CID 23671849

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E481

INS number

  • 481(i)

CAS registry number

  • 25383-99-7

As it appears in regulation

  • Sodium stearoyl lactylate

Other names

  • C24H43NaO6
  • E 481
  • EMULSILAC SK
  • INS NO.481(I)
  • INS-481(I)
  • Lactic acid, bimol. ester, stearate, sodium salt
  • Octadecanoic acid, 2-(1-carboxyethoxy)-1-methyl-2-oxoethyl ester, sodium salt
  • ODFAPIRLUPAQCQ-UHFFFAOYSA-M
  • Sodium 2-((2-(stearoyloxy)propanoyl)oxy)propanoate
  • Sodium 2-(1-carboxyethoxy)-1-methyl-2-oxoethyl octadecanoate
  • Sodium 2-stearoyllactate
  • Sodium 2-{[2-(octadecanoyloxy)propanoyl]oxy}propanoate
  • Sodium stearoyl 2-lactylate
  • sodium stearoyl lactate
  • Sodium stearoyl lactylate
  • Sodium stearoyl lactylateSodium stearoyl lactate
  • Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate
  • SODIUM STEAROYL-LACTYLATE (MART.)
  • SODIUM STEAROYL-LACTYLATE [MART.]
  • Sodium stearyl-2-lactylate
  • sodium stelate
  • sodium;2-(2-octadecanoyloxypropanoyloxy)propanoate
  • Stearic acid, ester with lactic acid bimol. ester, sodium salt
  • STEAROYL LACTYLATES

Systematic names

  • Octadecanoic acid, 2-(1-carboxyethoxy)-1-methyl-2-oxoethyl ester, sodium salt (1:1)
  • Sodium;2-(2-octadecanoyloxypropanoyloxy)propanoate

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI22 mg/kg bw/dayconsumersEFSAnot identified in the dataset

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • ecfr retrieved 2026-09-07
  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/sodium-stearoyl-lactylate.json