Sodium stearoyl lactylate
SSL is part of the stearoyl lactylate family, a class of additives that helps industrial doughs, whipped toppings, dips, sauces, and fat-water emulsions hold texture. In the United States, FDA permits it only under food-category limits, and international food-additive bodies list it as E 481/INS 481(i). Traditional toxicology reviews found low acute toxicity, no clear genotoxicity concern, and animal no-effect levels far above ordinary use levels, although older reviews noted data gaps and high-dose animal changes such as slower weight gain or higher relative liver weight. EFSA set a group ADI of 22 mg/kg body weight per day for sodium and calcium stearoyl-2-lactylates, while JECFA and Japan use 20 mg/kg body weight per day. EFSA’s exposure modeling found adults generally below that range, but some modeled child and toddler high-consumption scenarios could exceed it. A newer in vitro human-fecal-culture study also reported that SSL changed microbial populations and lowered butyrate production, but that is not proof of harm in people. Overall concern is limited and exposure-related, with no verified broad ban.
- Concern
- Limited
- Function
- Emulsifiers
- Updated
- May 25, 2026
What this is
SSL is part of the stearoyl lactylate family, a class of additives that helps industrial doughs, whipped toppings, dips, sauces, and fat-water emulsions hold texture. In the United States, FDA permits it only under food-category limits, and international food-additive bodies list it as E 481/INS 481(i). Traditional toxicology reviews found low acute toxicity, no clear genotoxicity concern, and animal no-effect levels far above ordinary use levels, although older reviews noted data gaps and high-dose animal changes such as slower weight gain or higher relative liver weight. EFSA set a group ADI of 22 mg/kg body weight per day for sodium and calcium stearoyl-2-lactylates, while JECFA and Japan use 20 mg/kg body weight per day. EFSA’s exposure modeling found adults generally below that range, but some modeled child and toddler high-consumption scenarios could exceed it. A newer in vitro human-fecal-culture study also reported that SSL changed microbial populations and lowered butyrate production, but that is not proof of harm in people. Overall concern is limited and exposure-related, with no verified broad ban.
Safety Review
The critical endpoints experts review in safety assessments. This is not a prediction of harm.
Safety reviews by JECFA, EFSA, and Japan found low acute toxicity and no clear genotoxic, carcinogenic, reproductive, or developmental signal; animal studies used to set ADIs produced no-effect levels around 2,000–2,200 mg/kg body weight per day. The main exposure concern is not a demonstrated poisoning effect but that EFSA’s conservative modeling found some toddler and child intake scenarios could exceed the ADI for combined sodium and calcium stearoyl lactylates. A 2020 in vitro study using human fecal cultures found SSL shifted gut bacteria, reduced butyrate-producing groups, and increased pro-inflammatory bacterial components, but this was a lab model without host digestion or clinical outcomes. The evidence supports limited concern and a data-gap watch, not a conclusion that ordinary foods containing SSL are harmful.
No safety review endpoints are listed for this ingredient yet.
Restaurant Usage
3 linked ingredient reports
State Policies
0 linked policies
No current state policy is listed for this ingredient in the policy tracker.
Federal Policies
0 linked policies
No direct federal policy is linked to this ingredient right now.
Sources
0 visible sources
Source population is still pending for this dossier. The page stays visible because the restaurant and policy context is still useful.