Emulsifiers In Our Food – What Are They, And Are They Safe?

Sometimes, things just don’t mix on their own, and that’s where emulsifiers lend a helping hand – particularly when it comes to food. However, recent chatter about ultra-processed foods and the additives involved has caused some to question whether emulsifiers might actually be harmful to our health. So what does science say?

What are emulsifiers?

Emulsifiers are substances that help to bring together other substances that wouldn’t normally mix, stopping them from separating. The classic example of such a pair is oil and water – a pain in the butt if you’re trying to use both in a recipe.

The structure of emulsifiers is what makes them so useful: they have a water-loving (or hydrophilic) end that sticks into the water, whilst the other end is water-hating (or hydrophobic), and instead sticks into the oil. This creates tiny droplets of one substance suspended within the other in what’s known as an emulsion.

Those used in food can be found naturally, and you may well have used them within your own kitchen. In making mayonnaise, for example, egg yolks are used because they contain emulsifying agents. The same goes for whacking a bit of mustard in a tasty homemade vinaigrette – oil and vinegar aren’t friends otherwise.

Why does the food industry use emulsifiers?

But emulsifiers aren’t just handy for whipping up homemade goods. They’re used throughout the food industry and can be sourced from the same natural products we might use at home, or similar synthetic versions. Common ones include mono and diglycerides of fatty acids, lecithin (that’s the one found in eggs), carrageenan, and esters.

They serve multiple purposes, ranging from improving taste and shelf-life to altering consistency, structure, and texture. In ice cream production, for example, emulsifiers are used to get that nice smooth feel with no ice crystals, whilst in bread, they can help to make a loaf extra plump and soft.

Are emulsifiers safe?

Though there are many organizations and legislative bodies responsible for providing advice on and regulating the safety of emulsifiers added to food – such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the UK – that hasn’t stopped concerns over whether or not they can cause harm to our health, often following the publication of new research on the topic.

A number of studies, for example, have explored the suggestion that some emulsifiers could contribute to inflammation in the gut. A 2017 review of such studies concluded that the emulsifying agents carrageenan and carboxymethylcellulose might promote intestinal inflammation and diseases associated with chronic inflammation, such as colitis – though it also stated they were unlikely to be the main cause. 

A more recent study that also explored the impact of emulsifiers polysorbate-80, soy lecithin, and gum arabic on mice found that all were associated with markers of gut inflammation.

Some scientists have taken issue with drawing any hard and fast conclusions about emulsifiers and health from this initial body of research though, primarily because the vast majority of it was conducted in animals – after all, mice aren’t humans (sorry, Stuart Little), so the effects seen in these studies might not necessarily translate to us.

Study methods also don’t always match up with how we’d go about consuming emulsifiers on a regular day-to-day basis. “[E]xperimental doses of emulsifiers given to animals in these studies are often much higher than average human consumption,” Dr Alicia Sandall, a registered dietitian and post-doctoral researcher at King’s College London, told the BBC.

That being said, some studies have involved humans – but have they made any difference to scientists’ conclusions about the safety of emulsifiers?

The human studies

A large cohort study – a type of study that follows a group of people over a period of time – known as the NutriNet-Santé study has spawned two research papers that have piqued interest in this area. In both cases, they show that there’s still a long way to go to produce a reliable body of evidence.

The first paper, published in September 2023, followed over 95,000 French adults and their intake of emulsifiers to find out if it increased their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study concluded that intake of four specific emulsifiers belonging to two groups, including mono and diglycerides of fatty acids, was positively associated with a risk of CVD.

A number of scientists, however, have argued that the results should be interpreted with caution.

“It is not possible to attribute the findings to emulsifiers,” said Professor Gunter Kuhnle, Professor of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Reading, who was not directly involved in the work. “The study relies on self-reported dietary data and estimates emulsifier intake from this information.”  

“Considering that emulsifiers are found in a wide range of foods, it is impossible to attribute observed effects to these compounds and not specific dietary patterns. Many foods with unfavorable nutrient profile contain emulsifiers and this might also explain some of the results.”

It’s a similar situation for the second, more recent paper, which used data from over 100,000 of the study participants to conclude that seven individual emulsifiers, including carrageenan and gum arabic, could increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Participants’ food intake was self-reported – which often makes this kind of data unreliable – and the amount of emulsifier consumed was an estimate. The researchers themselves acknowledge that the study is limited: “A single observational epidemiological study is not sufficient per se to establish causality,” they write.

It’s a theme found throughout the limitations sections and criticisms of such human studies on emulsifiers and health – there still simply isn’t enough evidence to make reliable conclusions one way or the other.

“I can understand that lots of people are concerned about what to eat,” professor of dietetics Kevin Whelan, who was involved in the 2020 mouse study, told the Guardian. “But my view is it’s too early to be saying we should not be adding emulsifiers to our foods. I also think it’s too early to be saying that everybody should stop eating any emulsifiers in foods.”

All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text, images, and links may be edited, removed, or added to at a later date to keep information current.

The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions. 

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