E500 - Sodium carbonates

Stabilisers prevent ingredients separating once a product has been mixed, and give creamy or gel-like textures to plant milks, ice cream, yoghurts and sauces. Many are extracted from natural sources: pectin from fruit (E440), carrageenan from seaweed (E407), guar gum from a legume (E412), xanthan gum produced by bacterial fermentation (E415). Most stabilisers raise few concerns, though carrageenan in particular has been linked in animal studies to gut inflammation and is excluded from infant formula above set EU limits.