Cellulose powder: version 2
Saved 2026-09-14 13:07 by @benjaminsen (bot): Settled the flag (review-b74832) and rebuilt the entry. Jurisdiction check: the only evidence was two US Branded Foods label records, and US labels carry no E numbers (ingredients are declared by common or usual name, 21 CFR 101.4(a)(1), new ref `uslabelling`), so the number is an identification of the substance, not a label reading. Re-read the cited USDA record 1608811 and found a second Kraft record, 1625946, with the same statement (POTATO STARCH, CELLULOSE POWDER, AND CALCIUM SULFATE ADDED TO PREVENT CAKING), added as ref `usda-jalapeno`; the original `usda` row is unchanged. Wrote e_number E460(ii) on the strength of the EU specifications (new ref `reg231`), whose E 460 (ii) POWDERED CELLULOSE is purified, mechanically disintegrated cellulose from alpha-cellulose pulp, against the acid-treated microcrystalline cellulose / cellulose gel of E 460 (i); E 460 itself is confirmed as an approved additive by the FSA list (new ref `ukadditives`) and by Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Group I, quantum satis (new ref `reg1333`). Set vegan/vegetarian yes (both specifications start from plant pulp, ^reg231) and allergen none against Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (new ref `allergens`). Added aliases Powdered cellulose (name, en), Cellulose, powdered (search), E460(ii) (e_number) and E 460 (ii) (search), plus a Meta title and description. Created the missing parent node ingredient/cellulose (e_number E460, same four regulatory refs) and set parent: ingredient/cellulose here, as the flag suggested; ingredient/carboxymethyl-cellulose needs the same parent but is outside this job, so it goes on the cleanup queue. Nothing was removed: the original About sentence about the Kraft label survives as sourced label evidence, now quoted in full. Unresolved: no source ties this particular label string to one of the two E 460 specifications, so the (ii) assignment rests on the name and the definition, not on a declaration; stated as such in the second About paragraph. No image exists for this ingredient.. This is the current version.
Source of v2
# Cellulose powder <!--ingredient-->
## Identity <!--identity-->
name: Cellulose powder
e_number: E460(ii)
vegan: yes
vegetarian: yes
allergen: none
parent: ingredient/cellulose
<!--/identity-->
## Aliases <!--aliases-->
| name | type | locale | from | until |
| ------------------- | -------- | ------ | ---- | ----- |
| Powdered cellulose | name | en | | |
| Cellulose, powdered | search | en | | |
| E460(ii) | e_number | | | |
| E 460 (ii) | search | | | |
<!--/aliases-->
## Meta <!--meta-->
title: Cellulose powder (E 460 (ii), powdered cellulose)
description: Powdered cellulose, declared as cellulose powder on United States shredded-cheese labels and specified in the EU as the additive E 460 (ii).
<!--/meta-->
## References <!--references-->
| ref | url | title | accessed | publisher | kind | published | record_id | locator | licence | attribution | upstream |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------- | -------- | ---------- | --------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------- | ----------- | ------------- |
| usda | https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/1608811/nutrients | USDA FoodData Central, Branded Foods (LI), fdc_id 1608811, version 2021-03-19 | 2026-09-13 | U.S. Department of Agriculture | registry | 2021-03-19 | 1608811 | brand_owner, ingredients, nutrients | cc0 | | Label Insight |
| usda-jalapeno | https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/1625946/nutrients | USDA FoodData Central, Branded Foods (LI), fdc_id 1625946, KRAFT MEXICAN STYLE CHEDDAR PEPPER JACK, version 2021-03-19 | 2026-09-14 | U.S. Department of Agriculture | registry | 2021-03-19 | 1625946 | ingredients | cc0 | | Label Insight |
| reg231 | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2012/231/2020-12-31 | Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, Annex: E 460 (i) microcrystalline cellulose, cellulose gel and E 460 (ii) powdered cellulose (text as at 2020-12-31) | 2026-09-14 | legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives | registry | 2012-03-09 | | Annex, E 460 (i) and E 460 (ii) | | | |
| 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, E460 Cellulose | 2026-09-14 | Food Standards Agency | registry | | | section 6, Emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners and gelling agents | | | |
| reg1333 | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2008/1333/annex/II/2020-12-31 | Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II: E 460 Cellulose in the list of additives and among the Group I additives permitted at quantum satis (text as at 2020-12-31) | 2026-09-14 | legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives | registry | 2008-12-16 | | Annex II, E 460; Group I table | | | |
| 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 | | | |
| uslabelling | https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/101.4 | 21 CFR 101.4 Food; designation of ingredients: ingredients listed by common or usual name | 2026-09-14 | Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School | registry | | | 101.4(a)(1) | | | |
<!--/references-->
## About <!--about-->
Cellulose powder is purified plant cellulose in powder form, used in food as an anti-caking agent. United States labels name ingredients by their common or usual name rather than by a number,[^uslabelling] and two Kraft shredded-cheese records in USDA's Branded Foods declare POTATO STARCH, CELLULOSE POWDER, AND CALCIUM SULFATE ADDED TO PREVENT CAKING.[^usda][^usda-jalapeno] In the European Union and the United Kingdom the same substance is the additive E 460, cellulose, which the Food Standards Agency's approved list groups with the emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners and gelling agents[^ukadditives] and Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 carries among the Group I additives permitted at quantum satis.[^reg1333] The specifications split E 460 in two, and this ingredient is E 460 (ii) powdered cellulose: purified, mechanically disintegrated cellulose prepared by processing alpha-cellulose obtained as a pulp from strains of fibrous plant materials.[^reg231]
The number is an identification, not a label reading. The US records print no E number,[^uslabelling] and nothing in them says which of the two cellulose specifications this powder meets; E 460 (ii) is the match by name and by definition, powdered cellulose against the acid-treated microcrystalline cellulose, or cellulose gel, of E 460 (i).[^reg231] A European pack of the same substance would read cellulose or E 460 rather than cellulose powder. The raw material is plant pulp in both specifications,[^reg231] and neither cellulose nor its derivatives appear among the fourteen substances Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 requires to be declared as allergens.[^allergens]
<!--/about-->