Tamarind seed polysaccharide
TAMARIND SEED POLYSACCHARIDE · 437INS 437
Listed as an emulsifier, a gelling agent and a thickener by Canada and Codex.
Listed as emulsifiers (CA, Codex) · gelling agents (CA, Codex) · thickeners (CA, Codex) · stabilisers (CA, Codex)
- Canada: Emulsifying, gelling, stabilizing or thickening agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Codex Alimentarius: Emulsifier — CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 437
- Canada: Emulsifying, gelling, stabilizing or thickening agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Codex Alimentarius: Gelling agent — CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 437
- Canada: Emulsifying, gelling, stabilizing or thickening agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Canada: Thickening agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Codex Alimentarius: Thickener — CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 437
- Canada: Emulsifying, gelling, stabilizing or thickening agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Canada: Stabilizing agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Codex Alimentarius: Stabilizer — CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 437
Tamarind seed polysaccharide is a thickener and stabiliser from tamarind kernels, used in sauces, dressings and frozen desserts.
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 | Permitted, with conditions | no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) 15 permitted uses Show every permitted use
| Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)and 14 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17 |
| 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 | 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 | 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), 타마린드검 (“Tamarind Gum”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 타마린드검: 증점제, 안정제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 타마린드검: (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 | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. | ||
| Codex Alimentarius | Permitted, with conditions | 10 food categories no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) Show every food category and its notes
| CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 437and 10 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07 |
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 | — | 5 GMP, 10 no quantity stated |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | — | 1 no quantity stated |
| Codex Alimentarius | — | 11 GMP |
No regulator sets a figure for Tamarind seed polysaccharide. 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.
GRAS notices to the FDA
A GRAS notice is a company’s conclusion that a substance is generally recognised as safe for the use it describes. FDA’s letter responds to that conclusion, for that notifier and that use. It is not a listing in 21 CFR, and it is not counted as a US permission above. The substance and use are as FDA’s inventory words them; this site matched the notice to this page by exact name.
GRN No. 503 · Tamarind seed polysaccharide · DSP GOKYO FOOD & CHEMICAL Co., Ltd.
Intended use: Use as a thickener, stabilizer, emulsifier, and gelling agent in certain food categories
FDA’s response (2014-08-12): FDA has no questions
What it is made from
Extracted from the kernel of Tamarindus indica seeds, a by-product of tamarind pulp processing.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
Every name it appears under
2 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
INS number
- 437
Other names
- TAMARIND SEED POLYSACCHARIDE
Hazard reference values
| Type | Value | Population | Assessed by | Opinion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADI | not specified | — | JECFA | 2017 |
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 INS 437?
- INS 437 is Tamarind seed polysaccharide. Tamarind seed polysaccharide is a thickener and stabiliser from tamarind kernels, used in sauces, dressings and frozen desserts.
- What is Tamarind seed polysaccharide used for in food?
- It is listed as an emulsifier, a gelling agent and a thickener — the role Canada and Codex assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Where is Tamarind seed polysaccharide permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada, South Korea and the Codex standard 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 Tamarind seed polysaccharide vegan?
- Yes. Tamarind seed polysaccharide is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- ca retrieved 2026-10-17
- kr retrieved 2026-10-18
- gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07
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