Polysorbate 80(E433)
Level 4 — Significant concernsIn Winter's Dictionary3 sources
Polysorbate 80 is a emulsifier — Viscous liquid emulsifier (condensate of sorbitol with oleic acid); stabilizer and humectant
Also: E433
What it does
Viscous liquid emulsifier (condensate of sorbitol with oleic acid); stabilizer and humectant
Where you'll see it
nondairy whipped cream, nondairy coffee whiteners, baked goods, ice cream, frozen custard, gelatins, vitamin and mineral supplements, salad dressings, pickles, special diet foods, table salt (up to 10 ppm), cottage cheese cream mixtures
What the research says
Associated with 1,4-dioxane contaminant (carcinogen in animals). Per Chassaing 2015 Nature mouse study: at concentrations below human dietary exposure, 0.1% polysorbate 80 in drinking water produces low-grade inflammation, adiposity, gut barrier damage, colitis, anxiety behaviors. Linked to post-mid-20th-c rise in IBD and metabolic syndrome.
[ultra-processed-people] Same Chassaing 2015 Nature study: polysorbate 80 in mouse drinking water at concentrations as low as 0.1% (lower than levels in many food preservatives) caused low-grade gut inflammation, increased adiposity, reduced microbial diversity and colitis-like damage. Effects mediated by the microbiome — sterile mice were protected, but faecal transplant from emulsifier-treated mice transferred the disease. Linked to post-mid-twentieth-century rise in inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic syndrome.
[metabolical] Polysorbate 80 is a detergent emulsifier that strips the intestinal mucin barrier, exposing epithelial cells to gut bacteria and predisposing to leaky gut, food allergies, autoimmune disease, and chronic low-grade inflammation that drives insulin resistance.
Regulatory status
- US FDA: ASP
- EU: approved
- Notes: European Parliament concerns; FDA residue tolerances 0.1-4.5% in various products
Sources
- Metabolical (Lustig) — Chapter 20: emulsifiers are also detergents, and can strip away the mucin layer that sits on top of and protects intestinal epithelial cells from the bacteria, thus predisposing individuals to intestinal disease, food allergy, or leaky gut
- Ultra-Processed People (van Tulleken) — Chapter 14: Additive anxiety: For polysorbate 80, as little as 0.1 per cent resulted in evidence of low-grade inflammation and increased adiposity
- A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives (Winter): The 80 is a viscous liquid with a fat caramel odor and is used as an emulsifier, stabilizer, and humectant