E428 - Gelatine

Gelatine is a protein, obtained by partially hydrolysing the collagen in animal skin, bone and connective tissue — chiefly pork and beef, with fish gelatine a smaller specialty. It dissolves in hot water and sets to a gel on cooling, and it melts at close to body temperature, which is why a gelatine jelly melts in the mouth in a way an agar or pectin gel does not.

The regulatory point is that gelatine is treated as a food ingredient, not a food additive. It is used in tens of grams per kilogram, contributes protein, and is declared by name on an ingredients list. Additives are used in fractions of a percent for a technical effect. E 428 is a number from international listings; it has no standing on the Great Britain additives list.

Jelly and table jellies, marshmallows and wine gums, panna cotta and mousses, low-fat yoghurts and spreads, aspic and terrines, and capsule shells for supplements and medicines.

E 428 does not appear in the FSA Register of Food Additive Authorisations, and that absence is not a restriction. Gelatine is lawfully and very widely used in Great Britain — as an ingredient, under food hygiene and compositional rules rather than the additives regime. No additive ADI applies, because it is not an additive.

The questions that actually matter with gelatine are dietary rather than toxicological. It is an animal product, so it is not suitable for vegetarians or vegans; sources may be porcine or bovine, which matters for halal and kosher observance and is not always specified on a label. Plant alternatives that do a similar job include pectin (E 440), agar (E 406), carrageenan (E 407) and gellan gum (E 418).

Animal-derived, so unsuitable for vegetarians and vegans. Labels often say “gelatine” without naming the species, which is a practical problem for halal and kosher observance.

• FSA Register of Food Additive Authorisations
• FSA/DHSC: Approved additives and E numbers