EU tightens guar gum and additive rules for infant and young-child foods
New EU rules restrict guar gum, or E412, in specified foods for infants and young children, including infant formula and some foods for special medical purposes. Manufacturers must review formulations and category-specific limits, while transition provisions allow eligible existing stock to remain on sale until expiry.
Guar gum restricted in specified infant foods
New European Union rules governing several food additives have applied across all member states since 18 August. One of the main changes concerns guar gum, identified as E412, and its use in specified categories of food for infants and young children. According to Fakt, the European Commission revised the conditions under which the additive may be used rather than imposing a general ban across the food market.
Guar gum functions as a thickener and stabiliser in food formulations. Under the revised rules, it may no longer be used in certain categories, including infant formula and some foods for special medical purposes. E412 has not been removed from all food applications, and the restrictions apply to defined products intended for particularly young consumers.
EFSA assessment drives regulatory change
The changes follow an assessment by the European Food Safety Authority. Fakt reports that EFSA found the available data insufficient to demonstrate the safety of guar gum in the infant and young-child food categories covered by its review. That finding provided the basis for the European Commission's amendment of the relevant EU rules.
EFSA did not classify guar gum as unsafe for every consumer or application. Its assessment addressed specific uses involving the youngest age groups. This distinction matters for manufacturers operating across several food segments: E412 remains available for applications outside the restricted categories, subject to the rules governing those products.
The regulation also changes conditions for carrageenan E407, locust bean gum E410, gum arabic E414, xanthan gum E415, pectins E440 and modified starch E1450. The permitted conditions and use levels differ by additive and food category. Producers therefore need a category-by-category review rather than a single response covering every stabiliser, thickener or modified starch in their portfolios.
Transition periods limit immediate withdrawals
Products containing E412 in affected categories that were legally placed on the market before 18 August may continue to be sold until their date of minimum durability or use-by date. The rules therefore do not require retailers or manufacturers to remove every compliant pre-existing product containing guar gum immediately. Companies will still need records showing when affected batches entered the market and whether they qualify for the transition.
A separate, longer arrangement applies to food for special medical purposes intended for infants from four months of age and for young children. Products containing E412 that are legally placed on the market before 27 April 2027 may remain available until the end of their shelf life. This provision gives suppliers in that category additional time to reformulate, validate alternatives and manage existing inventory.
Manufacturers face a formulation-by-formulation review
For infant-food producers, compliance work extends beyond replacing guar gum. Businesses must determine the regulatory category of each product, identify every affected additive, verify the applicable use conditions and align production with the relevant transition date. Reformulation may also require stability, texture and shelf-life checks because E412 and the other listed substances perform technical functions in finished products. With the rules applying throughout the EU, producers supplying several member states face a common regulatory change, but must still control labels, recipes, batch documentation and inventory at product level.
