What is E471?
E471 is the EU number for mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, a food emulsifier. The EU specification describes it as a mixture of glycerol esters of fatty acids found in food oils and fats. An emulsifier helps ingredients that normally separate, such as oil and water, stay mixed instead.
An E-number is simply the EU's identifier for an authorised food additive. EFSA explains that every additive carries one, and that its safety must be assessed before it can be authorised.
How is E471 made?
E471 is made from edible fats and oils. Manufacturers either react the fat with glycerol, a process called glycerolysis, or join glycerol directly to fatty acids. In the direct route, excess glycerol is removed by distillation. The raw material can be plant oil or animal fat.
In its 2017 opinion, EFSA's re-evaluation of E 471 lists coconut, palm, palm kernel, soya, rapeseed, cottonseed, corn and olive among the raw materials, and also tallow and lard. The finished additive may contain small amounts of free fatty acids and glycerol.
Where is E471 used, and is it allowed in the EU?
E471 is allowed in the EU. All additives must be authorised and listed, with their conditions of use, in the EU's positive list, and only those whose proposed uses were considered safe are on it. The European Commission explains this on its additives page.
EFSA reports that E471 is authorised in 84 food categories: 64 as a Group I additive and 20 with a specific authorised use. Its examples include bread and rolls, fine bakery wares, chocolate products and breakfast cereals. The EU food additives database lists the additives approved in the EU and their conditions of use.
What did EFSA conclude about E471?
EFSA's 2017 re-evaluation concluded that E471 is of no safety concern at the reported uses and use levels, and that no numerical acceptable daily intake was needed. The Panel expected the body to break it down into glycerol and fatty acids, which EFSA had already re-evaluated.
The conclusion rested on toxicity studies. Short-term, subchronic, chronic, reproductive and developmental studies showed no adverse effects, and the Panel found no concern about cancer or damage to genetic material.
The opinion has a clear boundary. It does not apply to infants under 12 weeks of age, who would need a separate risk assessment.
Why does Yasno mark E471 with a Caution?
Yasno marks E471 with a Caution because of purity, not because of the fats themselves. The same EFSA opinion asked for tighter rules on impurities that can come from how the additive is made. That is a specific, sourced reason, which is what a Caution requires.
EFSA said that glycidyl esters, whose only identified source is refined vegetable oil, would need further assessment, and it recommended that the Commission consider maximum limits for them. It noted that the EU specification has no limit for 3-MCPD, another processing by-product, and said more data are needed to reduce the uncertainty. It also recommended considering lower limits for arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium.
There is also observational research. A prospective study of 95,442 French adults, published in the BMJ in 2023, found that higher intake of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids was associated with a slightly higher risk of cardiovascular disease, with a hazard ratio of 1.07 per standard deviation of intake. The authors state that they could not confirm that emulsifiers cause the risk, and that residual confounding cannot be entirely ruled out. An association is a reason to keep studying something, not a finding of harm.
How do you read E471 on a label?
On a label, an additive must show its function and its identity. You may see "emulsifier (E471)" or "emulsifier: mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids". Both mean the same substance. EFSA notes that labels name the function and identify the substance by its E-number or its name.
Three practical points follow from that:
- Source. The label does not say whether the fat was plant or animal. A vegan or vegetarian mark on the pack is the reliable signal.
- Allergens. The product around E471 may contain allergens. Read the allergen statement every time, because Yasno never says an allergen is absent.
- Context. One additive says little about a whole product. Look at the full list and the nutrition panel together.
What does Yasno do with E471?
Yasno reads the label from your photo and gives each ingredient a verdict with a short explanation and its sources. A Caution or an Avoid verdict is only shown when a regulator or strong research gives a specific reason, and a clean label gets a short, plain answer. You can read the full rules in how Yasno rates ingredients, and the FAQ answers the most common questions about the app.
The ingredient page for Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E471) shows the verdict, the EU status and the sources in one place. E471 is a good example of how Yasno works. A single code can be approved, reviewed by regulators and still carry a sourced question worth knowing about. Yasno shows you the reason and the source and leaves the decision to you.