EU Revises Food Additive Standards and Strengthens Specifications for Thickeners (January 28, 2026)
The EU officially issued Regulation (EU) 2026/196, revising the usage specifications and purity standards of seven common food additives, including carrageenan (E407), locust bean gum (E410), guar gum (E412), acacia gum (E414), xanthan gum (E415), pectin (E440), and sodium starch octenyl succinate (E1450).
The new regulation tightens impurity limits, upgrades purity requirements and updates official detection methods, aiming to strengthen safety supervision over thickeners and stabilizers. This revision has a significant impact on Chinese food additive exporters, especially for mainstream export products such as xanthan gum, pectin and guar gum. Export enterprises need to benchmark against the latest EU standards, optimize production processes and quality control systems to ensure full compliance with overseas market regulations.
