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E-numbers that can come from animals

Of the 328 E-numbers in Bravoora’s list, seven always come from an animal or an insect, such as carmine (E120), and 49 more can.

By Bravoora teamPublished 13 October 2026Sources checked 13 October 202612 min read

Always from an animal or an insect: carmine (E120), bone phosphate (E542), beeswax (E901), shellac (E904), lanolin (E913), lactitol (E966) and lysozyme (E1105).
Can come from an animal or another source: 49 codes, such as E471, from plant oils or animal fat.
For a vegetarian profile, E120 gets Not for you: it always comes from cochineal insects, and insects count.
For a vegetarian profile, E471 with no stated source gets Heads up. A pack that says “from plant oils” gives Fits you; one that says “from animal fat” gives Not for you.

Codes and sources from Bravoora’s E-number list. On the left the source never changes; on the right only a source named on the pack settles it.

Key takeaways

An E-number names an additive, not its source: an EU label prints the additive’s job and its name or E-number, and nothing about what it was made from.
In Bravoora’s list of 328 codes, seven always come from an animal or an insect: carmine (E120), bone phosphate (E542), beeswax (E901), shellac (E904), lanolin (E913), lactitol (E966) and lysozyme (E1105).
Another 49 can come from an animal or from another source, such as E471, from plant oils or animal fat. With no source on the pack, a vegan profile gets Heads up on each of them.
An additive made from egg, milk or fish must name that allergen on an EU label; lactitol (E966), made from lactose, is exempt from naming milk.
Gelatin has no E-number: EU law does not count edible gelatin as a food additive, so the label names it as gelatin.

The short answer

Of the 328 E-numbers in Bravoora’s list, seven always come from an animal or an insect: carmine (E120), bone phosphate (E542), beeswax (E901), shellac (E904), lanolin (E913), lactitol (E966) and lysozyme (E1105). Another 49 can come from an animal or another source, and the label need not say which. Gelatin has no E-number: EU law does not class it as an additive.

Does an E-number tell you where an additive comes from?

No. E-numbers are the codes of the food additives approved in the EU, listed by number in Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008^[1]. An EU label must print each additive’s category followed by its name or its E-number, such as “colour (E120)” or “emulsifier (E471)”^[2]. Nothing in that rule asks what the additive was made from.

Bravoora’s E-number list records every source each code can come from, with the answer each profile gets^[3]. Of its 328 codes, seven always come from an animal or an insect, and 49 more can come from an animal or from another source.

Which E-numbers always come from an animal or an insect?

Seven codes in the list do^[3]. The EU’s own specifications describe carmine as extracted from cochineal, the dried bodies of a female insect; shellac as purified lac, a secretion of the lac insect; beeswax as the wax of the honey bee’s comb; and lysozyme as a protein from hens’ egg whites^[4].

A vegan profile gets Not for you on all seven. A vegetarian profile gets Not for you on E120, E542 and E904, which come from cochineal insects, animal bones and lac insects: insects count as animal. It gets Fits you on E901, E913, E966 and E1105, which come from honey bees, sheep's wool, milk and egg: none of those is meat or fish^[3]. Nothing on the pack changes the answer: E120 is always from cochineal insects. A recipe that drops the code would.

Two of them reach beyond food. Carmine also colours cosmetics, where the ingredient list prints it as CI 75470^[5]. In the US, food and cosmetic labels have had to name it, as “cochineal extract” or “carmine”, since 5 January 2011, without having to say that it comes from insects^[6]. Shellac gives sweets and coated tablets their shine, and a tablet label often calls it “pharmaceutical glaze”^[7].

E-numbers that always come from an animal or an insect, and the answer a vegetarian profile gets; a vegan profile gets Not for you on every one (Bravoora’s E-number list)
Code	Name	Made from	Vegetarian profile
E120	Carmine (cochineal)	Cochineal insects	Not for you
E542	Bone phosphate	Animal bones	Not for you
E901	Beeswax	Honey bees	Fits you
E904	Shellac	Lac insects	Not for you
E913	Lanolin	Sheep's wool	Fits you
E966	Lactitol	Lactose, from milk	Fits you
E1105	Lysozyme	Egg	Fits you

Which E-numbers can come from an animal or from something else?

The list has 49 codes that can^[3]. One of the most common is E471, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, which keeps fat and water mixed in bread, ice cream and margarine; its fatty acids can come from plant oils or from animal fat^[8].

Unless the pack names the source, nobody reading the label can tell which one was used. So a vegan profile gets Heads up: source not stated on all 49. A vegetarian profile gets Heads up on the 47 where animal fat, fish, meat, animal collagen or poultry feathers is among the sources, and Fits you on E234 and E322, whose animal sources are milk or egg^[3].

E-numbers that can come from an animal or from another source, and the answer a vegetarian profile gets when the pack names no source; a vegan profile gets Heads up on every one (Bravoora’s E-number list)
Code	Name	Can come from	Vegetarian profile
E234	Nisin	Fermentation or milk	Fits you
E304	Ascorbyl palmitate	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E322	Lecithins	Soy, sunflower, rapeseed or egg	Fits you
E422	Glycerol	Plant oils, animal fat or fermentation	Heads up
E431	Polyoxyethylene (40) stearate	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E432	Polysorbate 20	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E433	Polysorbate 80	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E434	Polysorbate 40	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E435	Polysorbate 60	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E436	Polysorbate 65	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E442	Ammonium phosphatides	Rapeseed, plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E445	Glycerol esters of wood rosins	Pine wood rosin, plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E470a	Sodium, potassium and calcium salts of fatty acids	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E470b	Magnesium salts of fatty acids	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E471	Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E472a	Acetic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E472b	Lactic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E472c	Citric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E472d	Tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E472e	DATEM (mono- and diglyceride esters)	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E472f	Mixed acetic and tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E473	Sucrose esters of fatty acids	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E474	Sucroglycerides	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E475	Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E477	Propane-1,2-diol esters of fatty acids	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E479b	Thermally oxidised soya bean oil interacted with mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids	Plant oils, soy or animal fat	Heads up
E481	Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E482	Calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E483	Stearyl tartrate	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E491	Sorbitan monostearate	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E492	Sorbitan tristearate	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E493	Sorbitan monolaurate	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E494	Sorbitan monooleate	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E495	Sorbitan monopalmitate	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E570	Fatty acids	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E626	Guanylic acid	Yeast, fermentation or fish	Heads up
E627	Disodium guanylate	Yeast, fermentation or fish	Heads up
E628	Dipotassium guanylate	Yeast, fermentation or fish	Heads up
E629	Calcium guanylate	Yeast, fermentation or fish	Heads up
E630	Inosinic acid	Fish, meat or fermentation	Heads up
E631	Disodium inosinate	Fish, meat or fermentation	Heads up
E632	Dipotassium inosinate	Fish, meat or fermentation	Heads up
E633	Calcium inosinate	Fish, meat or fermentation	Heads up
E634	Calcium 5′-ribonucleotides	Fish, meat, yeast or fermentation	Heads up
E635	Disodium 5′-ribonucleotides	Fish, meat, yeast or fermentation	Heads up
E640	Glycine and its sodium salt	Made in a lab or animal collagen	Heads up
E920	L-cysteine	Poultry feathers or fermentation	Heads up
E1517	Glyceryl diacetate (diacetin)	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up
E1518	Glyceryl triacetate (triacetin)	Plant oils or animal fat	Heads up

When must the label name the source?

When the source is an allergen. EU rules count food additives as ingredients, so an additive made from egg, milk or fish must name that allergen on the label, like any other ingredient^[2]. In the list, egg is a source of E322 and E1105; milk, of E234 and E966; and fish, of E626, E627, E628, E629, E630, E631, E632, E633, E634 and E635^[3].

One of them is exempt: lactitol (E966) is made from lactose, the milk sugar^[3], but EU rules leave lactitol out of the milk entry, so the pack may not say milk^[2].

For lecithin (E322), a pack that names the source settles it, as in “sunflower lecithin”; one that says only “lecithin” leaves it open^[9].

Why is gelatin not on the list?

Because it is not an additive. EU law names edible gelatin among the substances that are not food additives, so it has no E-number^[1]. A label lists it by name, as gelatin or gelatine, sometimes with the animal, as in beef, pork or fish gelatin^[10].

Gelatin is made from animal collagen, usually from the skin and bones of cattle, pigs or fish, and it sets gummies and forms many softgel shells^[10]. Glycine and its sodium salt (E640) can come from the same animal collagen^[3]. The guide to supplement labels shows where gelatin sits on a supplement panel.

Animal sources in Bravoora’s E-number list

The list holds 328 codes. Seven always come from an animal or an insect and 49 more can, 56 in all^[3].
Animal fat is the animal source the list names most often: 35 codes can come from it, E304, E422, E431, E432, E433, E434, E435, E436, E442, E445, E470a, E470b, E471, E472a, E472b, E472c, E472d, E472e, E472f, E473, E474, E475, E477, E479b, E481, E482, E483, E491, E492, E493, E494, E495, E570, E1517 and E1518^[3].
Fish is a possible source of ten codes, all flavour enhancers: E626, E627, E628, E629, E630, E631, E632, E633, E634 and E635^[3].
For a vegetarian profile the 56 codes split three ways: Not for you on three, Heads up on 47 and Fits you on six^[3].
The list counts 56 codes whose source matters to a vegan or vegetarian profile. Another 26 come from more than one source with no animal among them, such as lactic acid (E270), so they get Fits you whichever source was used^[3].

Method: codes, sources and answer words read on 13 October 2026 from Bravoora’s E-number list, updated 13 October 2026, through the same code that builds each E-number page^[3]. “Always” is a code the list records as animal or insect in origin; “can come from” is a code whose source varies, with an animal or an insect among its possible sources. The list records what a code can be made from, not what a given product used.

Which words on a label point to an animal or an insect?

Carmine (cochineal), Cochineal, Carminic acid, Natural Red 4, CI 75470: E120, from cochineal insects.
Bone phosphate, Edible bone phosphate: E542, from animal bones.
Beeswax: E901, from honey bees.
Shellac, Confectioner’s glaze, Resinous glaze: E904, from lac insects.
Lanolin, Wool wax, Wool grease: E913, from sheep's wool.
Lactitol: E966, from lactose, from milk.
Lysozyme, Lysozyme (from egg): E1105, from egg.
Gelatin, Gelatine, Beef gelatin, Pork gelatin, Fish gelatin: no E-number; made from animal collagen.
Soy lecithin, Soya lecithin, Sunflower lecithin, Egg lecithin: E322 with its source named.
Source not stated: the code or the additive’s name alone, with nothing about what it was made from.

How do you check a label for animal sources in 30 seconds?

Find the additives in the ingredient list: each is printed as its job, such as colour or emulsifier, then its name or E-number.
Look for the codes that always come from an animal or an insect: E120, E542, E901, E904, E913, E966 and E1105.
Then look for the codes that can: E234, E304, E322, E422, E431, E432, E433, E434, E435, E436, E442, E445, E470a, E470b, E471, E472a, E472b, E472c, E472d, E472e, E472f, E473, E474, E475, E477, E479b, E481, E482, E483, E491, E492, E493, E494, E495, E570, E626, E627, E628, E629, E630, E631, E632, E633, E634, E635, E640, E920, E1517 and E1518.
For each of those, check whether the pack names the source, such as “sunflower lecithin” or “from plant oils”. If it does not, the source is open.
Read the allergens: egg, milk or fish can be the source of an additive.
Look for gelatin by name: it has no E-number.

How does Bravoora check where an E-number comes from?

Bravoora reads each code in the forms a pack prints it, such as “E471”, “E 471”, “INS 471” or “Emulsifier (471)”^[3], and compares the source with the profile you build. For Mia, whose profile is vegetarian, E120 gives “Not for Mia” and E471 with no stated source gives “Heads up for Mia”. For E471, a stated source changes the answer. A pack that says “from plant oils” gives Fits you; one that says “from animal fat” gives Not for you. A list that is cut off or unreadable gets Needs one more scan. The methodology shows how it is tested.

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Tell it once what matters: your allergens, your diet, the ingredients you watch. Every answer then shows the words it is based on.

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Scope and limits

This guide covers the 328 codes in Bravoora’s E-number list, the EU rules on naming additives and allergens, and the US rule on naming carmine. It does not cover flavourings, processing aids or other countries’ rules.

The list records what a code can be made from, not what a given product used: only a source named on the pack, or the maker, can settle that.

Sources were checked on 13 October 2026.

This is general label information, not medical or dietary advice. For an allergy, a doctor or dietitian can tell you which sources matter.

Frequently asked questions

Is E471 vegan?

Heads up. Source not stated. E471 can come from plant oils or animal fat. The pack does not have to say which, so the app says Heads up instead of guessing.

Do insects count as animal?

Yes, for both profiles. Carmine (E120) and shellac (E904) come from cochineal insects and lac insects, so vegan and vegetarian profiles both get Not for you on them.

Is lecithin (E322) made from egg?

It can be. E322 can come from soy, sunflower, rapeseed or egg. When it comes from egg, the label must name egg. A pack that says only “lecithin” leaves the source open, so a vegan profile gets Heads up.

Does gelatin have an E-number?

No. EU law does not count edible gelatin as a food additive, so it has no E-number and the label names it as gelatin. It is made from animal collagen, and the label often does not say which animal.