Sorbitan trioleate

Listed as an emulsifier, a thickener and a stabiliser by Canada.

Listed as emulsifiers (CA) · thickeners (CA) · stabilisers (CA)
Chemical structure of Sorbitan trioleate, from PubChem compound 9920343
Structure from PubChem CID 9920343 (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.

A sorbitan ester carrying three oleic acid chains, used as an emulsifier. The sorbitan esters differ in which fatty acid they carry and how many.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Sorbitan trioleate by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New ZealandNo 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.
CanadaHealth CanadaPermitted, with conditions

In: Sausage casings. Purpose: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent. Limit: 3,500 ppm of the casing.

Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4), item S.22retrieved 2026-10-17
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSANo 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 BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards ScotlandNo 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.
JapanConsumer Affairs AgencyNo 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 SafetyNo 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 StatesFood and Drug AdministrationNot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot 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.

Canada—1 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Sorbitan trioleate. 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 esterifying sorbitan, itself made by dehydrating sorbitol, with oleic acid. The oleic acid may be of vegetable or animal origin.

InChIKey
PRXRUNOAOLTIEF-ADSICKODSA-N
PubChem
CID 9920343

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 26266-58-0

Other names

  • Anhydrosorbitol trioleate
  • Arlacel 85
  • Crill 5
  • Emasol 430
  • Emsorb 2503
  • Glycomul TO
  • Ionet S 85
  • Liposorb TO
  • MF59 COMPONENT SPAN85
  • Nissan nonion OP 85
  • Nissan nonion OP 85R
  • Protachem STO
  • PRXRUNOAOLTIEF-ADSICKODSA-N
  • QE6F49RPJ1
  • Rheodol SP 030
  • Sorbitan Trioleate
  • Sorbitan, tri-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate
  • Sorbitan, tri-9-octadecenoate
  • Sorbitan, tri-9-octadecenoate, (Z,Z,Z)-
  • Sorbitane trioleate
  • Span 85
  • Span-85
  • Span85
  • Trioleate de sorbitan
  • Trioleato de sorbitan
  • Trioleato de sorbitano

Systematic names

  • [(2R)-2-[(2R,3R,4S)-4-hydroxy-3-[(Z)-octadec-9-enoyl]oxyoxolan-2-yl]-2-[(Z)-octadec-9-enoyl]oxyethyl] (Z)-octadec-9-enoate

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

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 Sorbitan trioleate?
A sorbitan ester carrying three oleic acid chains, used as an emulsifier. The sorbitan esters differ in which fatty acid they carry and how many.
What is Sorbitan trioleate used for in food?
It is listed as an emulsifier, a thickener and a stabiliser — the role Canada assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Where is Sorbitan trioleate permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.

Sources for this page

  • ca retrieved 2026-10-17

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

Machine-readable: a JSON record of this additive is given on request —how to ask for access.

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