Erythritol

What this is

Erythritol is widely permitted as a food additive or food ingredient, but regulators do not describe it in identical ways. In the United States, FDA's GRAS inventory lists multiple erythritol notices with "FDA has no questions" letters for specified intended uses, while one newer fermentation-process notice was still pending in the inventory reviewed here. JECFA assigned an ADI "not specified," while EFSA's 2023 re-evaluation set a numerical ADI of 0.5 g/kg body weight per day, mainly to protect against diarrhea and possible secondary effects from electrolyte and water imbalance. EFSA also concluded erythritol is not genotoxic and that current evidence does not show a cause-and-effect relationship with cardiovascular disease; FDA similarly stated that observational studies have not established causality. However, cardiovascular and platelet-reactivity signals remain an active research area, so the issue remains unresolved rather than settled. California has also enacted school-food policy that lists erythritol in ultraprocessed-food criteria, creating a policy signal separate from ordinary retail use.

Safety Review

The health areas reviewed when evaluating an ingredient. This does not mean the ingredient is proven to cause harm.

EFSA set an ADI mainly around gastrointestinal tolerance, and FDA/JECFA materials do not identify erythritol as genotoxic. Cardiovascular causality is not established, but platelet-reactivity and cardiovascular-event signals remain active research questions, so the uncertainty should be presented as unresolved rather than proven harm.

No additional safety information is available for this ingredient yet.