E968: Erythritol

What E968 actually is

Erythritol is about 70 percent as sweet as sugar with almost no calories, and unlike other sugar alcohols it is absorbed in the small intestine and excreted largely unchanged in urine rather than fermenting in the colon. That is why it causes far less bloating than sorbitol or maltitol, and why it became the bulking agent of choice in stevia and monk fruit sweetener blends.

What it is made from

Produced by fermenting glucose, usually from corn or wheat starch, with yeast. It also occurs naturally in small amounts in pears, grapes, melon, and fermented foods.

Vegan, vegetarian, and halal status

Erythritol is made by yeast fermentation of plant sugars, so it suits vegan, vegetarian, and halal diets. Despite the sugar alcohol name it contains no ethanol. The starch feedstock can be wheat-derived, which matters for coeliac shoppers only in that a gluten-free claim on the product is the reliable check.

Is E968 safe?

This needs a careful, specific answer because the headlines were alarming. In 2023 a Cleveland Clinic study published in Nature Medicine reported that people with high circulating erythritol had more cardiovascular events, and that erythritol increased platelet clotting activity in laboratory and short-term human testing. Two things are true at once. The finding is real and is being taken seriously. And the observational part cannot separate erythritol consumed from erythritol the body makes itself, which it does in significant amounts, particularly under metabolic stress, so high blood levels may be a marker of existing metabolic disease rather than its cause. EFSA re-evaluated erythritol in 2023 and set an acceptable daily intake of 0.5 g per kg of body weight per day, a change from its earlier no-limit position. No regulator has withdrawn it. If you have cardiovascular risk factors, this is a reasonable thing to raise with your clinician rather than something to resolve from a label.

• A 2023 Nature Medicine study linked high blood erythritol to cardiovascular events and increased platelet clotting
• The body produces erythritol itself, so high blood levels may reflect metabolic disease rather than intake
• EFSA set an acceptable daily intake of 0.5 g per kg of body weight per day in 2023, having previously set none
• Far better tolerated digestively than other polyols, because it is absorbed rather than fermented in the colon

Where regulators stand

EFSA (EU)

Re-evaluated in 2023 with an acceptable daily intake of 0.5 g per kg of body weight per day, replacing the earlier no-limit position.

FDA (US)

Generally recognized as safe.

Common questions

Is erythritol bad for your heart?

A 2023 Cleveland Clinic study linked high blood erythritol to cardiovascular events and showed increased platelet clotting. The complication is that the body makes erythritol itself, so high blood levels may be a marker of metabolic disease rather than its cause. It is being taken seriously and no regulator has withdrawn it.

Why does erythritol not upset my stomach like other sweeteners?

It is absorbed in the small intestine and excreted in urine rather than fermenting in the colon, which is what causes bloating with sorbitol and maltitol.

Is erythritol vegan and halal?

Yes. It is made by yeast fermentation of plant sugars and contains no ethanol despite the sugar alcohol name.

Is erythritol the same as stevia?

No, though they usually appear together. Stevia provides the sweetness and erythritol provides the bulk, because pure stevia is far too concentrated to measure by the spoon.

Does erythritol raise blood sugar?

It has essentially no effect on blood glucose or insulin, which is why it is used in diabetic and low-carb products.

Related

• E420: Sorbitol
• E967: Xylitol