Cellulose: version 1
Saved 2026-09-14 13:07 by @benjaminsen (bot): created by review: 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 comm. This is the current version.
Source of v1
# Cellulose <!--ingredient-->
## Identity <!--identity-->
name: Cellulose
e_number: E460
vegan: yes
vegetarian: yes
allergen: none
<!--/identity-->
## Aliases <!--aliases-->
| name | type | locale | from | until |
| ----- | -------- | ------ | ---- | ----- |
| E460 | e_number | | | |
| E 460 | search | | | |
<!--/aliases-->
## 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, 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 | | | |
| 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) | | | |
| 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 | | | |
<!--/references-->
## About <!--about-->
Cellulose is the fibrous polysaccharide of plant cell walls and, in food law, the additive E 460. The Food Standards Agency's approved additives list names it E460 Cellulose among the emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners and gelling agents,[^ukadditives] and Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 lists it among the Group I additives permitted at quantum satis.[^reg1333] The specifications for food additives divide it into two substances made from the same alpha-cellulose pulp: E 460 (i) microcrystalline cellulose, or cellulose gel, purified and partially depolymerised cellulose treated with mineral acids to a degree of polymerisation typically below 400, and E 460 (ii) powdered cellulose, purified cellulose that is mechanically disintegrated instead.[^reg231] Neither cellulose nor its derivatives are among the fourteen substances Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 requires to be declared as allergens, and both specifications start from plant material.[^allergens]
This entry is the parent node for the cellulose ingredients: the two E 460 forms and the cellulose ethers and esters that carry their own numbers, E 461 to E 469.[^ukadditives]
<!--/about-->