Is Gellan Gum Safe to Eat?

Gellan gum is widely used as a food additive and is generally considered safe at the levels used in foods. Here is what E418 actually does in food.

If you see "gellan gum" or "E418" on a food label, you may wonder:

"Is this stuff actually safe to eat?"

The short answer is:

Yes, gellan gum is widely used as a food ingredient and is considered safe when used as intended.

What is gellan gum?

Gellan gum is a polysaccharide produced by microbial fermentation.

It is used in food mainly as a:

You can find it in products such as beverages, plant-based milk, desserts, sauces and other formulated foods.

E418 is simply the European food additive number for gellan gum.

Seeing an "E-number" on a label does not mean the ingredient is dangerous.

E-numbers are simply a system used to identify approved food additives.

Gellan gum is a large polysaccharide and is not digested like ordinary sugars or proteins.

Much of it passes through the digestive system without being broken down in the same way as digestible carbohydrates.

This is one reason gellan gum can function as a useful food hydrocolloid at very low concentrations.

This depends on what you mean by "natural."

Gellan gum is produced by microbial fermentation rather than being extracted directly from a plant.

So it is not a plant gum like guar gum or locust bean gum.

But it is still produced through a fermentation process using microorganisms.

You don't need much.

In many food applications, gellan gum works at relatively low concentrations.

For example, a beverage may only require a very small amount to help keep particles suspended.

The amount depends heavily on the product and what the manufacturer wants the gellan gum to do.

As with any food ingredient, individual tolerance can vary.

Some people may experience digestive discomfort when consuming large amounts of certain hydrocolloids.

But that is very different from saying that gellan gum is inherently unsafe.

The important point is that food additives are evaluated for their intended uses and levels of consumption.

The presence of E418 doesn't automatically tell you whether a food is healthy or unhealthy.

Gellan gum is usually added in a very small amount to perform a specific technical function.

Whether a food is highly processed is a much broader question involving the entire formulation and manufacturing process.

Gellan gum, or E418, is a widely used food additive.

It is mainly used to stabilize, thicken, gel or suspend ingredients.

If you see E418 on a food label, there is no reason to assume that the "E-number" itself means the food is unsafe.

As always, the overall food product and the amount consumed matter more than one ingredient name on the label.