What is E473?
Complete guide to understanding E473 (Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids) in your food
The Quick Answer
E473 is a food emulsifier made from sucrose (sugar) chemically bonded with fatty acids.
It’s used in food to blend oil and water, improve texture, and stabilize products.
It’s one of the most versatile emulsifiers available, with unique capabilities that allow it to enhance other emulsifiers and improve air bubble structure.
📌 Quick Facts
- Category: Emulsifier, stabilizer, texturizer, and aerating agent
- Also known as: Sugar esters, Sucrose fatty acid esters, Sucrose monostearate/monopalmitate/distearate
- Found in: Baked goods, fine bakery wares, candy, ice cream, chocolate, dairy products, sauces, fruit drinks, supplements
- Safety: FDA and EFSA approved for use; approved globally
- Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI): 40 mg/kg body weight per day (EFSA standard)
- Common form: White, odorless powder with slightly sweet taste
What Exactly Is It?
E473 is made by chemically bonding sucrose (table sugar) with fatty acids, typically palmitic or stearic acid derived from plant sources like palm and coconut oil.
The resulting product is a mixture of different components, primarily:
• Sucrose monostearate
• Sucrose monopalmitate
• Sucrose distearate
• Sucrose dipalmitate
• Minor amounts of higher esters (tri, tetra, and hepta-esters)
The unique structure gives E473 eight hydroxyl groups on the sucrose molecule that can each bond with one fatty acid molecule, creating esters with varying fatty acid saturation and chain length.
This allows E473 to have a wide range of hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) values—a measure of how strongly it binds to water versus oils.
Where You’ll Find It
E473 appears in a diverse range of food products:
• Fine bakery wares (cakes, pastries, cookies)
• Bread and yeast preparations
• Confectionery and candy
• Ice cream and frozen desserts
• Chocolate and chocolate coatings
• Dairy products and spreads
• Sauces and dressings
• Flavored drinks and beverages
• Breakfast cereals and snack bars
• Dietary supplements and food supplements
• Fresh fruit coatings (as protective surface treatment)
It’s one of the most widely used emulsifiers in the baking industry, where it can contribute up to 20,000 mg/kg in some products.
Most commercial baked goods and many confectionery items contain E473.
Why Do Food Companies Use It?
E473’s primary roles are emulsification, stabilization, and texture enhancement, with unique properties no single other emulsifier offers.
E473 provides food manufacturers with multiple advantages:
• Versatile emulsification: Can be used in both oil-in-water and water-in-oil formulations depending on HLB value
• Air incorporation: Creates stable foam and improves volume in baked goods and whipped products
• Fine crumb structure: Produces softer, more luxurious texture in cakes and pastries
• Enhanced mouthfeel: Improves creaminess in ice cream and dairy products
• Emulsifier enhancement: Boosts effectiveness of other emulsifiers
• Fat stability: Prevents separation in margarine, dressings, and sauces
• Sugar crystallization control: Accelerates crystallization in fine-grained confections
• Shelf life extension: Reduces starch staling in baked goods
• Fat bloom prevention: Protects chocolate from graying and bloom development
• Protein protection: Prevents browning and degradation of proteins
• Low-fat product optimization: Compensates for lost mouthfeel when fat is reduced
• Starch stabilization: Prevents starch from early gelatinization and solidification
Its unique ability to enhance other emulsifiers makes E473 particularly valuable in formulating complex products with multiple texture requirements.
Is It Safe?
E473 is approved by major regulatory authorities and is considered safe at approved use levels.
Both the FDA and EFSA have authorized its use, and it appears on approved additives lists worldwide.
Safety profile:
• The EFSA established an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of 40 mg/kg body weight per day
• For a person weighing 70 kg (154 lbs), this equals approximately 2,800 mg per day—far exceeding normal food intake
• Metabolic studies show E473 is extensively hydrolyzed in the gastrointestinal tract into sucrose and fatty acids before absorption
• The body metabolizes both components identically to natural sugars and dietary fats
• Incompletely hydrolyzed esters are excreted in feces
• No evidence of tissue accumulation
• Maximum permitted levels are carefully regulated (ranging from 120 to 20,000 mg/kg depending on food category)
• Decades of use without documented widespread safety concerns
Important exposure note:
The EFSA noted that actual dietary exposure to E473 exceeds the ADI of 40 mg/kg body weight per day for some population groups, particularly toddlers and children, when assuming all products in approved categories contain it. However, EFSA’s 2018 refined assessment acknowledged this likely overestimates actual exposure because not all products in approved categories contain E473—only a small percentage do in practice.
Natural vs Synthetic Version
E473 is synthesized rather than occurring naturally:
Starting materials: While sucrose comes from natural sugar beets or cane, and fatty acids from plants (palm, coconut) or animals, E473 itself is synthetically manufactured.
Manufacturing process: Created through esterification or transesterification reactions, where sucrose molecules are bonded with fatty acid esters in controlled conditions.
Plant-based production: Most modern E473 uses plant-derived fatty acids from palm or coconut oil, making it suitable for vegetarian/vegan products when the source is confirmed.
Chemically identical result: Regardless of whether fatty acids come from plants or animals, the final E473 product is the same chemically, and the body processes it identically.
Natural Alternatives
Want to avoid E473 or use other emulsifiers?
Some alternatives include:
• Lecithin (E322) – From soybeans, sunflower, or eggs; more expensive but increasingly available
• Sucroglycerides (E474) – Similar to E473 but contains glycerides from edible fats
• Mono- and diglycerides (E471) – Different emulsifier with some overlapping applications
• Sorbitan esters (E491-E495) – Another class of emulsifiers
• Gums (guar, xanthan, acacia) – Plant-based thickeners and stabilizers
• Whole eggs and egg yolks – Traditional emulsifier in premium baked goods and desserts
• Starch – Modified starches provide some stabilization and texture benefits
These alternatives typically cost more and may not provide all the properties E473 offers, which is why E473 remains popular in mass-market and premium products alike.
The Bottom Line
E473 (sucrose esters of fatty acids) is one of the most versatile food emulsifiers, particularly valued for its ability to enhance texture, incorporate air, and improve the performance of other emulsifiers.
It’s found in a wide range of products, from commercial cakes and ice cream to confectionery and baked goods.
Regulatory bodies including the FDA and EFSA have determined it’s safe for consumption at approved use levels based on extensive metabolic research and decades of use.
The body breaks down E473 into natural sugar and fatty acids during digestion, with no evidence of accumulation or harm at normal dietary intake levels.
For consumers aiming to minimize additives, checking labels and choosing products without added emulsifiers remains an option, though many high-quality baked goods and desserts rely on E473 for their superior texture and shelf life.