E903 - Carnauba wax
What it is and how it is used
Carnauba wax is scraped from the leaves of the Brazilian palm Copernicia prurifera, which secretes it to stop itself drying out in the dry season of the north-eastern sertão. It is still gathered by hand, and Brazil remains effectively the only source.
It is the hardest natural wax known, with the highest melting point of any commercial wax at around 82–86 °C. That hardness is why a coated sweet stays glossy in a warm shop rather than going tacky, and why a fraction of a percent is enough. In food it is a glazing agent, applied in vanishingly thin layers to seal against moisture and give shine.
Foods commonly containing it
Coated confectionery and chocolate panning (the shell on sugar-coated sweets), chewing gum, glazes on fresh citrus and apples, coffee beans, and coatings on supplement tablets.
Safety summary
Carnauba wax is authorised in Great Britain as E 903.
The ADI position needs stating carefully, because two bodies reached different conclusions. JECFA allocated an acceptable daily intake of 7 mg per kg of body weight per day. EFSA, re-evaluating the wax in 2012, did not establish an ADI, because long-term toxicity data were lacking — but it concluded that exposure from the proposed uses left sufficient margins of safety against the identified no-observed-adverse-effect levels, and that use as a food additive would not be of safety concern. Subchronic and reproductive/developmental studies showed no adverse effects; no chronic or carcinogenicity studies were available.
Carnauba wax is plant-derived, so unlike shellac (E 904, from the lac insect) it is suitable for vegans.