Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols
E499 · Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols · Augu sterīni ar augstu stigmasterīna saturu · Biljni steroli bogati stigmasterolom · Daug stigmasterolio turintys augalų steroliai · Esteróis vegetais ricos em estigmasterol · Fitosteroles ricos en estigmasterol · Fitosteroli ricchi di stigmasterolo · Magas sztigmaszterin-tartalmú növényi szterinek · Phytostérols riches en stigmastérol · Plantensterolen die rijk zijn aan stigmasterol · Rastlinné steroly s vysokým obsahom stigmasterolu · rastlinski steroli, bogati s stigmasterolom · Rostlinné steroly bohaté na stigmasterol · Runsaasti stigmasterolia sisältävät kasvisterolit · Sterole roślinne bogate w stygmasterol · Steroli tal-pjanti rikki fl-istigmasteroli · Steroli vegetali bogați în stigmasterol · Stigmasterinreiche Phytosterine · Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols · Stigmasterolrige plantesteroler · Stigmasterolrika växtsteroler · Suure stigmasteroolisisaldusega taimsed steroolid · Πλούσιες σε στιγμαστερόλη φυτοστερόλες · Богати на стигмастерол растителни стеролиE number E499
Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols are a stabiliser permitted in the EU only in ready-to-freeze alcoholic cocktails, where they help the mixture freeze evenly.
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 | Permitted, with conditions | 1 food category highest permitted level 80 mg/l ML = 80 mg/l. only to water-based ready-to-freeze alcoholic cocktails. | Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II, as amended by (EU) No 0739/2013retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| Great Britain | Permitted, with conditions | 1 food category (1) ML 80: Only to water based ready-to-freeze alcoholic cocktails; (2) ML 800: Only to cream based ready-to-freeze alcoholic cocktails. Note (80): The labelling requirements set out by Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004 ( OJ L 97, 1.4.2004, p. 44 ) shall not apply. | Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II (as at 28 June 2024)retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| Japan | 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 Korea | No 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 States | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. | ||
| 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.
| European Union | 80 mg/kg | 1 numeric limit |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | — | 1 several limits |
What it is made from
Concentrated from the sterol fraction recovered during soya oil refining.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
Allergen labelling
- Annex II exception for soybeans. Concentrated from soya oil refining. Annex II item 6(c) names phytosterols and phytosterol esters derived from vegetable oils from soybean sources as exceptions.
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.
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 499 Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols
Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols are derived from soybeans and are a chemically defined simple mixture that comprises not less than 95 % of plant sterols (stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, campesterol and brassicasterol), with stigmasterol representing not less than 85 % of the stigmasterol-rich plant sterols.
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Stigmasterol
- (3S,8S,9S,10R,13R,14S,17R)-17-(5-ethyl-6-methyl-hept-3-en-2-yl)-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1Hcyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol
- β-Sitosterol
- (3S,8S,9S,10R,13R,14S,17R)-17-[(2S,5S)-5-ethyl-6-methylheptan-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1Hcyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol
- Campesterol
- (3S,8S,9S,10R,13R,14S,17R)-17-(5,6-dimethylheptan-2-yl)-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1Hcyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol
- Brassicasterol
- (3S,8S,9S,10R,13R,14S,17R)-17-[(E,2R,5R)-5,6-dimethylhept-3-en-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1Hcyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol
- Stigmasterol
- C₂₉H₄₈O
- β-Sitosterol
- C₂₉H₅₀O
- Campesterol
- C₂₈H₄₈O
- Brassicasterol
- C₂₈H₄₆O
- Stigmasterol
- 412,6 g/mol
- β-Sitosterol
- 414,7 g/mol
- Campesterol
- 400,6 g/mol
- Brassicasterol
- 398,6 g/mol
- Assay (products containing only free sterols and stanols)
- Content not less than 95 % on a total free sterol/stanol basis on the anhydrous basis
- Description
- Free-flowing, white to off-white powders, pills or pastilles; colourless to pale yellow liquids
Identification
- Solubility
- Practically insoluble in water. Phytosterols and phytostanols are soluble in acetone and ethyl acetate.
- Stigmasterol content
- Not less than 85 % (w/w)
- Other plant sterols/stanols: either singularly or in combination including Brassicasterol, campestanol, campesterol, Δ-7-campesterol, cholesterol, chlerosterol, sitostanol and β-sitosterol.
- Not more than 15 % (w/w)
Purity criteria
- Total Ash
- Not more than 0,1 %
- Residual Solvents
- Ethanol: Not more than 5 000 mg/kg Methanol: Not more than 50 mg/kg
- Water content
- Not more than 4 % (Karl Fischer method)
- Arsenic
- Not more than 3 mg/kg
- Lead
- Not more than 1 mg/kg
- Microbiological criteria: Total plate count
- Not more than 1 000 CFU/g
- Microbiological criteria: Yeasts
- Not more than 100 CFU/g
- Microbiological criteria: Moulds
- Not more than 100 CFU/g
- Microbiological criteria: Escherichia coli
- Not more than 10 CFU/g
- Microbiological criteria: Salmonella spp.
- Absent in 25 g
Every name it appears under
25 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
E number
- E499
As it appears in regulation
- Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols
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 E 499?
- E 499 is Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols. Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols are a stabiliser permitted in the EU only in ready-to-freeze alcoholic cocktails, where they help the mixture freeze evenly.
- Where is Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, the EU and Great Britain 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 Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols vegan?
- Yes. Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- eu retrieved 2026-10-18
- gb retrieved 2026-10-18
- euspecs retrieved 2026-10-18
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.
Follow changes to Stigmasterol-rich plant sterols:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.