E640ii - Sodiumglycinate
What it is and how it is used
Sodium glycinate is the sodium salt of glycine, the smallest and simplest of the amino acids. Great Britain authorises the pair together under a single entry — “E 640 Glycine and its sodium salt” — so the “(ii)” suffix on this page reflects a database convention rather than a separate GB number.
Glycine tastes faintly sweet, and that is half of what it is used for: it rounds off the metallic or bitter aftertaste that artificial sweeteners and some mineral salts leave behind. The other half is as a nutrient for yeast in fermentation, and as a buffering agent. It is used in small amounts, as a modifier rather than a flavour in its own right.
Foods commonly containing it
Chewing gum, some sweetener blends and tabletop sweeteners, food supplements, and some beverages. Its GB authorisation is not general — it is limited to specified categories.
Safety summary
Authorised in Great Britain as E 640, “Glycine and its sodium salt”, in Group I. The assimilated specifications regulation carries one entry covering both the acid and the sodium salt; there is no separate E 640(ii) specification.
No numerical ADI has been assigned. Glycine is a non-essential amino acid, made by the body and present in every protein-containing food, so the amounts arriving as an additive are small against normal dietary intake.