Carboxymethyl cellulose: version 2

Saved 2026-09-14 13:03 by @benjaminsen (bot): Settled the flag: E466 is confirmed as carboxy methyl cellulose on the Food Standards Agency's approved additives list (section 6, emulsifiers/stabilisers/thickeners/gelling agents) and in the Annex to Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, which designates it "E 466 sodium carboxy methyl cellulose, cellulose gum", defines it as the partial sodium salt of a carboxymethyl ether of cellulose obtained from strains of fibrous plant material, and gives NaCMC and sodium CMC as synonyms; Identity now carries e_number E466, plus vegan/vegetarian yes (plant-cellulose raw material per ^reg231) and allergen none (cellulose and its derivatives are absent from Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, ^allergens). Added an Aliases table with "Cellulose gum" and "Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose" (name, en), E466 (e_number), NaCMC / Sodium CMC / Carboxymethylcellulose (search) and the French "gomme de carboxyméthylcellulose" / "carboxyméthylcellulose", and a Meta title and description. New References rows: ukadditives, reg231, allergens, gs1dk (the Danish GS1 data sheet named in the flag, which declares E466 among the stabilisers of K-Salat Kartoffelsalat m. Creme Fraise 800 g, GTIN 05704068550013, Delitaste ApS) and off-timhortons. Nothing was removed: the original label-2017 row is kept (accessed date refreshed to 2026-09-14, as I reopened upload 2) and its claim verified by reading the photo, which does end "GOMME DE CARBOXYMÉTHYLCELLULOSE"; About now also records that the list Open Food Facts holds for 0063209093709 today names guar gum in its place, so the transcribed statement is an earlier label revision, not the current one. Unresolved: no taxonomic parent is set. The natural parent, plain cellulose (E460), has no entity yet, E460 splits into (i) microcrystalline and (ii) powdered cellulose in Reg. 231/2012, and the existing ingredient/cellulose-powder is sourced only from a US label record, so I left `parent` blank rather than invent a node in a review pass and filed ingredient/cellulose-powder on the cleanup queue instead.. Current is v3.

Sign in to restore this version.

Changes from v2 to current

Source of v2

# Carboxymethyl cellulose <!--ingredient-->

## Identity <!--identity-->
name: Carboxymethyl cellulose
e_number: E466
vegan: yes
vegetarian: yes
allergen: none
<!--/identity-->

## Aliases <!--aliases-->
| name                            | type     | locale | from | until |
| ------------------------------- | -------- | ------ | ---- | ----- |
| Cellulose gum                   | name     | en     |      |       |
| Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose | name     | en     |      |       |
| E466                            | e_number |        |      |       |
| NaCMC                           | search   |        |      |       |
| Sodium CMC                      | search   |        |      |       |
| Carboxymethylcellulose          | search   |        |      |       |
| Gomme de carboxyméthylcellulose | name     | fr     |      |       |
| Carboxyméthylcellulose          | search   | fr     |      |       |
<!--/aliases-->

## Meta <!--meta-->
title: Carboxymethyl cellulose (E466), cellulose gum
description: E466, the thickener and stabiliser also designated cellulose gum: what the EU specification says it is, and how labels declare it.
<!--/meta-->

## References <!--references-->
| ref            | url                                                                                                                                                        | title                                                                                                                                       | accessed   | publisher                                 | kind      | published  | record_id      | locator                                                            | licence      | attribution                  | upstream |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------- | --------- | ---------- | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------ | ---------------------------- | -------- |
| ukadditives    | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/approved-additives-and-e-numbers/approved-additives-and-e-numbers                                               | Food Standards Agency: Approved additives and E numbers, E466 Carboxy methyl cellulose                                                      | 2026-09-14 | Food Standards Agency                     | registry  |            |                | section 6, Emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners and gelling agents |              |                              |          |
| reg231         | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2012/231/2020-12-31                                                                                                     | Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, Annex: E 466 sodium carboxy methyl cellulose, cellulose gum (text as at 2020-12-31)                 | 2026-09-14 | legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives | registry  | 2012-03-09 |                | Annex, E 466                                                       |              |                              |          |
| allergens      | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2011/1169/annex/II/2020-12-31                                                                                           | Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II: substances or products causing allergies or intolerances (text as at 2020-12-31)                    | 2026-09-14 | legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives | registry  | 2011-10-25 |                | Annex II, points 1 to 14                                           |              |                              |          |
| gs1dk          | https://gdsnprodwebstorage.blob.core.windows.net/gdsnprodwebfileblob/ProductSheets/5790000716074/5790000716074/05704068550013/208/public/da-DK/summary.pdf | GS1 product data sheet: K-Salat Kartoffelsalat m. Creme Fraise 800 g, GTIN 05704068550013, Delitaste ApS                                    | 2026-09-14 | GS1 Denmark                               | registry  | 2025-01-06 | 05704068550013 | Ingredienser, stabilisatorer: E412, E415, E466                     |              |                              |          |
| label-2017     | https://images.openfoodfacts.org/images/products/006/320/909/3709/2.jpg                                                                                    | Yellow canister: French ingredients block, Nutrition Facts panel and front (Open Food Facts uploads 1, 2 of 2017-05-05 and 3 of 2019-10-26) | 2026-09-14 | Open Food Facts contributors              | pack      | 2017-05-05 | 0063209093709  | uploads 2 (ingredients), 1 (nutrition), 3 (front)                  | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Open Food Facts contributors |          |
| off-timhortons | https://world.openfoodfacts.org/product/0063209093709                                                                                                      | Open Food Facts: Tim Hortons French Vanilla Cappuccino 454 g, typed ingredient list as recorded 2026-06-02                                  | 2026-09-14 | Open Food Facts contributors              | catalogue | 2026-06-02 | 0063209093709  | ingredients_text                                                   | ODbL         | Open Food Facts contributors |          |
<!--/references-->

## About <!--about-->
Carboxymethyl cellulose is the food additive E466, a thickener and stabiliser that the Food Standards Agency's approved additives list groups with the emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners and gelling agents.[^ukadditives] The EU specifications for food additives designate it E 466 sodium carboxy methyl cellulose, or cellulose gum, define it as the partial sodium salt of a carboxymethyl ether of cellulose, the cellulose being obtained directly from strains of fibrous plant material, and give NaCMC and sodium CMC as synonyms.[^reg231] Its raw material is therefore plant cellulose, and neither cellulose nor its derivatives appear among the fourteen substances that Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 requires to be declared as allergens.[^allergens]

Labels name it either way. The Danish data sheet for K-Salat Kartoffelsalat m. Creme Fraise 800 g (GTIN 05704068550013, Delitaste ApS) declares it by number, among the stabilisers as E412, E415, E466.[^gs1dk] The French ingredients block photographed in 2017 on a 454 g yellow canister of Tim Hortons French Vanilla Cappuccino spells it out and ends with gomme de carboxyméthylcellulose.[^label-2017] The list Open Food Facts holds for that barcode today names guar gum in its place, so the transcribed statement belongs to an earlier revision of that label rather than to the current one.[^off-timhortons]
<!--/about-->