Sorbitan monolaurate

E number E493INS 493CAS 1338-39-2

Used as an emulsifier — Codex also lists it as stabilizer.

Sorbitan monolaurate is an emulsifier used in cake mixes, icings and beverage bases, usually alongside its polysorbate counterpart.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Sorbitan monolaurate by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
Jurisdiction	Status	Scope and limits	Citation
United StatesFood and Drug Administration	Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFA	Permitted, with conditions	53 food categories highest permitted level 20,000 mg/kg Show every food category 01.1.4 Flavoured Fluid Milk Drinks — 5,000 mg/kg 01.3.2 Beverage whiteners — 4,000 mg/kg 01.4.2 Sterilized and UHT creams, whipping and whipped creams, and reduced fat creams (plain) — 5,000 mg/kg 01.4.3 Clotted cream (plain) — 5,000 mg/kg 01.4.4 Cream analogues — 5,000 mg/kg 01.5.2 Milk and cream powder analogues — 4,000 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 — 750 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 — 5,000 mg/kg 02.4 Fat-based desserts excluding dairy-based dessert products of food category 01.7 — 10,000 mg/kg 03.0 Edible ices, including sherbet and sorbet — 1,000 mg/kg 04.1.2.11 Fruit fillings for pastries — 5,000 mg/kg 04.1.2.8 Fruit preparations, including pulp, purees, fruit toppings and coconut milk — 5,000 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 05.1.1 Cocoa mixes (powders) and cocoa mass/cake — 2,000 mg/kg 05.1.3 Cocoa-based spreads, incl. fillings — 10,000 mg/kg 05.1.4 Cocoa and chocolate products — 10,000 mg/kg 05.1.5 Imitation chocolate, chocolate substitute products — 10,000 mg/kg 05.2.1 Hard candy — 10,000 mg/kg 05.2.2 Soft candy — 10,000 mg/kg 05.2.3 Nougats and marzipans — 10,000 mg/kg 05.3 Chewing gum — 5,000 mg/kg 05.4 Decorations (e.g. for fine bakery wares), toppings (non-fruit), and sweet sauces — 10,000 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) — 5,000 mg/kg 06.8.1 Soybean-based beverages — 20,000 mg/kg 07.1.1 Breads and rolls — 3,000 mg/kg 07.1.2 Crackers, excluding sweet crackers — 10,000 mg/kg 07.1.3 Other ordinary bakery products (e.g. bagels, pita, English muffins) — 10,000 mg/kg 07.1.4 Bread-type products, including bread stuffing and bread crumbs — 10,000 mg/kg 07.1.5 Steamed breads and buns — 10,000 mg/kg 07.1.6 Mixes for bread and ordinary bakery wares — 10,000 mg/kg 07.2 Fine bakery wares (sweet, salty, savoury) and mixes — 10,000 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 — 500 mg/kg 10.4 Egg-based desserts (e.g. custard) — 5,000 mg/kg 12.5.2 Mixes for soups and broths — 250 mg/kg 12.6.1 Emulsified sauces and dips (e.g. mayonnaise, salad dressing, onion dips) — 5,000 mg/kg 12.6.3 Mixes for sauces and gravies — 50 mg/kg 12.8 Yeast and like products — 15,000 mg/kg 13.3 Dietetic foods intended for special medical purposes (excluding products of food category 13.1) — 1,000 mg/kg 13.4 Dietetic formulae for slimming purposes and weight reduction — 1,000 mg/kg 13.5 Dietetic foods (e.g. supplementary foods for dietary use) excluding products of food categories — 5,000 mg/kg 13.6 Food supplements — 10,000 mg/kg 14.1.4.1 Carbonated water-based flavoured drinks — 500 mg/kg 14.1.4.2 Non-carbonated water-based flavoured drinks, including punches and ades — 500 mg/kg 14.1.4.3 Concentrates (liquid or solid) for water-based flavoured drinks — 500 mg/kg 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions, and other hot cereal and grain beverages, excluding cocoa — 500 mg/kg 15.1 Snacks - potato, cereal, flour or starch based (from roots and tubers, pulses and legumes) — 300 mg/kg	CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 493and 52 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Made by esterifying sorbitol with lauric acid, which comes mainly from coconut and palm kernel oil, though a fat blend is possible.

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: 1338-39-2
InChIKey: LWZFANDGMFTDAV-BURFUSLBSA-N
PubChem: CID 11046239

Every name it appears under

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

E number

E493

INS number

CAS registry number

1338-39-2
8028-02-2

Other names

(R)-2-((2R,3R,4S)-3,4-dihydroxytetrahydrofuran-2-yl)-2-hydroxyethyl dodecanoate
1,4-anhydro-6-O-dodecanoyl-D-glucitol
1,4-Anhydro-D-glucitol, 6-dodecanoate
2-(3,4-dihydroxyoxolan-2-yl)-2-hydroxyethyl dodecanoate
[(2R)-2-[(2R,3R,4S)-3,4-dihydroxyoxolan-2-yl]-2-hydroxyethyl] dodecanoate
Alkamuls S 20
Alkamuls SML
Anhydrosorbitol monolaurate
Arlacel 20
Arlacel-20
Armotan ML
Atmer 100
CCRIS 709
Dehymuls SML
Disponil SML 100
E 493
Emasol 110
Emasol L 10
Emasol L 10(F)
Emasol Super L 10(F)
Emsorb 2515
FCM no 414
Glycomul L
Glycomul LC
INS NO.493
INS-493
Ionet S 20
Kemotan S 20
L 250 (ester)
Laurate de sorbitan
Laurato de sorbitan
Laurato de sorbitano
Lauric acid sorbitan ester
Lonzest SML
Montane 20
Nissan Nonion LP 20R
Nonion LP 20R
Nonion LR 20R
NRF 201
Radiasurf 7125
Rheodol SP-L 10
Rheodol Super SP-L 10
Sorbitan laurate
Sorbitan lauric acid monoester
Sorbitan monolaurate
Sorbitan, monododecanoate
Sorbitani lauras
Sorbon S 20
Sorgen 90
Span 20
Texnol SPT
Value SP 20

Systematic names

1,4-anhydro-6-O-dodecanoyl-D-glucitol

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	21 mg/kg bw	consumers	EFSA FEEDAP	2019
ADI	10 mg/kg bw/day	consumers	EFSA	not 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

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/sorbitan-monolaurate.json