Allervibe
E904
Shellac
A resin secreted by the lac insect, used as a glazing agent to give a hard, shiny coat.
i Additive Details
| Is E904 Shellac safe?
Shellac is an insect product, secreted by the female lac insect, so it is not vegan; because the harvested resin can carry insect fragments, some vegetarians avoid it as well. It may appear on labels as shellac, confectioner's glaze or E904, none of which signal its origin. It is not absorbed from the gut and is not a common allergen.
| Uses
Glazes sugar-coated sweets, chocolate lentils, jelly beans, chewing gum and coffee beans, and is applied to the skin of apples and citrus fruit. It is also used to coat tablets and capsules, including coatings designed to dissolve only past the stomach.
| Interactions
Usually applied together with beeswax (E901) and carnauba wax (E903) in multi-layer coatings. It is insoluble in water and in stomach acid but dissolves in the more alkaline small intestine, which is why it is used for enteric coatings.
| Origin
A resin secreted by the female lac insect (Kerria lacca) onto the branches of host trees, mainly in India and Thailand. The crude resin is scraped off, washed, dewaxed and then bleached or heat-refined.
| Daily Intake
ADI not specified. In the EU it is authorised as a surface treatment for defined foods at quantum satis, meaning there is no numerical limit but no more may be used than the effect requires.
Information is sourced from public regulatory bodies (EFSA, FDA, WHO) and is for reference only. Always read the package and consult a healthcare professional for medical advice.
Related additives
- E551 Silicon dioxide A fine amorphous silica powder used to stop powdered foods from clumping.
- E901 White and yellow beeswax A natural wax produced by honeybees, used to glaze and coat foods.
- E903 Carnauba wax A hard plant wax from the leaves of the Brazilian carnauba palm, used to polish and glaze foods.
- E920 L-cysteine An amino acid used as a flour treatment agent to relax dough and shorten mixing and proving times.
- E1404 Oxidised starch A starch treated with an oxidising agent to give thinner, clearer and more stable pastes.
- E1422 Acetylated distarch adipate A modified starch that is cross-linked with adipic acid groups and acetylated, giving heat, acid and freeze-thaw stable thickening.
Spot Shellac with Allervibe
Reading every line of the ingredient list to find a single additive takes time. Allervibe pulls the full additive breakdown from each scan so you can see Shellac at a glance.
- ▮ Scan a barcode to see every additive listed for that product
- ▲ Open any additive for plain-language information
- ↻ Save products to favorites so repeat checks are instant