Food additives (E-numbers): what they are and whether they are vegan

By the Daat team · Updated October 30, 2026

We went through the ingredient lists of 16,831 Israeli products in Daat’s catalog. 44% had no numbered additive at all. 9% had more than four. Below are the additives we met most, and the ones whose origin matters if you are vegan or vegetarian.

The most common in Israel

The five additives we found in the most products: Citric acid (3,589), Lecithin (2,241), Potassium sorbate (1,631), Sodium carbonates (1,380), Sodium benzoate (1,199). Most are kitchen staples. An E-number is just a labelling code.

Every additive in the guide

E-number	Name	Function	Vegan	Our products
E100	Curcumin	Colour	Yes	233
E102	Tartrazine	Colour	Yes	84
E110	Sunset yellow FCF	Colour	Yes	31
E120	Carmine	Colour	No	67
E129	Allura red AC	Colour	Yes	81
E133	Brilliant blue FCF	Colour	Yes	116
E150	Caramel colour	Colour	Yes	333
E153	Vegetable carbon	Colour	Depends on the source	6
E160c	Paprika extract	Colour	Yes	384
E162	Beetroot red	Colour	Yes	64
E171	Titanium dioxide	Colour	Yes	54
E200	Sorbic acid	Preservative	Yes	417
E202	Potassium sorbate	Preservative	Yes	1,631
E211	Sodium benzoate	Preservative	Yes	1,199
E220	Sulphur dioxide	Preservative	Yes	27
E250	Sodium nitrite	Preservative	Yes	160
E260	Acetic acid	Acid / acidity regulator	Yes	104
E270	Lactic acid	Acid / acidity regulator	Yes	652
E282	Calcium propionate	Preservative	Yes	129
E296	Malic acid	Acid / acidity regulator	Yes	300
E300	Ascorbic acid	Antioxidant	Yes	879
E306	Tocopherols	Antioxidant	Yes	56
E322	Lecithin	Emulsifier	Yes	2,241
E330	Citric acid	Acid / acidity regulator	Yes	3,589
E331	Sodium citrates	Acid / acidity regulator	Yes	300
E338	Phosphoric acid	Acid / acidity regulator	Yes	198
E407	Carrageenan	Thickener / stabiliser	Yes	577
E410	Locust bean gum	Thickener / stabiliser	Yes	225
E412	Guar gum	Thickener / stabiliser	Yes	805
E415	Xanthan gum	Thickener / stabiliser	Yes	816
E422	Glycerol	Humectant	Depends on the source	121
E440	Pectin	Gelling agent	Yes	483
E441	Gelatine	Gelling agent	No	141
E450	Diphosphates	Raising agent	Yes	634
E452	Polyphosphates	Humectant	Yes	229
E460	Cellulose	Thickener / stabiliser	Yes	109
E466	Carboxymethyl cellulose	Thickener / stabiliser	Yes	292
E471	Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids	Emulsifier	Depends on the source	873
E472	Esters of mono- and diglycerides	Emulsifier	Depends on the source	114
E476	Polyglycerol polyricinoleate	Emulsifier	Yes	251
E500	Sodium carbonates	Raising agent	Yes	1,380
E503	Ammonium carbonates	Raising agent	Yes	383
E542	Edible bone phosphate	Anti-caking agent	No	1
E551	Silicon dioxide	Anti-caking agent	Yes	147
E621	Monosodium glutamate	Flavour enhancer	Yes	430
E627	Disodium guanylate	Flavour enhancer	Depends on the source	182
E631	Disodium inosinate	Flavour enhancer	Depends on the source	184
E640	Glycine	Flavour enhancer	Depends on the source	5
E901	Beeswax	Glazing agent	No	10
E904	Shellac	Glazing agent	No	11
E913	Lanolin	Glazing agent	No	0
E920	L-cysteine	Flour treatment agent	Depends on the source	92
E950	Acesulfame K	Sweetener	Yes	61
E951	Aspartame	Sweetener	Yes	159
E955	Sucralose	Sweetener	Yes	431
E960	Steviol glycosides	Sweetener	Yes	140
E967	Xylitol	Sweetener	Yes	89
E1105	Lysozyme	Enzyme / preservative	No	10
E1422	Acetylated distarch adipate	Thickener / stabiliser	Yes	304
E1442	Hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate	Thickener / stabiliser	Yes	397

How we counted

We searched each product’s ingredient list for every additive by number (E330, E-330, E 330) and by its common Hebrew and English names. A product counts once per additive, however often it is listed. The matching is automatic, so the numbers are right as a trend rather than for every single product. How the scanner itself works is in the methodology.