Gum acacia specifications are written to one of two purity standards. In the United States and Canada that standard is the Food Chemicals Codex. In the European Union it is the E 414 monograph carried in Regulation (EU) No 231/2012. The two set different heavy metal limits, so the numbers on your document depend on which standard the supplier wrote it to. Find that line before comparing one supplier's specification against another's.
The two standards
US food regulation references the Food Chemicals Codex directly. 21 CFR 184.1330 covers gum arabic as GRAS and incorporates the FCC monograph by reference, and 21 CFR 172.780 does the same. Ingredient labels use the common name under 21 CFR 101.4, which is why a US label reads gum arabic or gum acacia and never carries a number. No US federal or state rule requires a gum arabic specification to conform to an E number.
The European system works differently. Every additive authorized for use in Europe carries an E number, and each number has a purity monograph behind it in EU law. E 414 is gum arabic's number, the same way E 300 is ascorbic acid's. A European ingredient label can declare either "E 414" or "gum arabic" and both are compliant. All of these names point to the same ingredient, the dried exudate of Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal trees. We cover the full family of names in our guide to gum arabic's many names.
Published gum arabic specifications also cite Ph. Eur. and USP-NF for individual parameters, and many documents mix references line by line: identity and ash to one monograph, heavy metals to another. The regulatory line at the foot of the specification tells you which framework the document as a whole is written to.
What Regulation (EU) 2026/196 changed
Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/196 amended the E 414 monograph in Regulation (EU) No 231/2012. It applies from 18 August 2026. These are the E 414 purity criteria as amended.
| Parameter | E 414 requirement |
|---|---|
| Arsenic | 0.1 mg/kg max |
| Lead | 0.05 mg/kg max |
| Mercury | 0.05 mg/kg max |
| Cadmium | 0.05 mg/kg max |
| Aluminium | 100 mg/kg max for foods for infants and young children, 200 mg/kg max for all other uses |
| Proteins | 3.5% max (Kjeldahl) |
The aluminium limit is two-tier. The 100 mg/kg figure applies only to foods for infants and young children, and general food use sits at 200 mg/kg.
The Commission set out its reasoning in the regulation itself. Recital 16 states the limits were set at the level currently achievable by the application of good manufacturing practices, and recital 29 records that EFSA did not identify an immediate health concern linked to the previous specifications.
Heavy metals on gum arabic specifications are commonly determined by DIN EN 15763, an ICP-MS method. Where a document reports a result as "conforms" with no figure, ask for the number.
Which standard applies to your work
If you manufacture food or beverage products for sale in the United States or Canada, FCC is the applicable standard and EU rules do not govern your production. If you export finished product into the European Union, your customers there work to E 414 and will expect documentation that speaks to it. Some buyers, particularly in supplements and children's products, hold internal heavy metal targets tighter than either monograph, and those targets are set by contract.
What to check on the document
Find the regulatory or references line. It names the framework, usually FCC, Ph. Eur., USP-NF or E 414.
Read the version number and release date in the footer. Specifications get reissued, and limits move when they do. A specification with no version number is difficult to hold anyone to.
Match the certificate of analysis to the specification version. A CoA written against one version, filed next to a specification at another, is the most common source of QA queries we see. If you are working through the certificate itself rather than the specification, we walk through every parameter in how to read a gum acacia certificate of analysis.
What we supply
Our gum acacia specifications are written to FCC, the standard US and Canadian food production runs on. That covers both species, spray-dried powder and agglomerated grades, conventional and Oregon Tilth certified organic. Current specification and lot certificate of analysis go out with every order and sample request. More on the organic program is in our guide to US-stocked organic gum acacia.
If you are supplying a European customer and need documentation that addresses E 414 for a particular grade, please ask and we will tell you what we can put behind it.
Frequently asked
What standard is gum arabic specified to in the United States?
The Food Chemicals Codex. 21 CFR 184.1330 covers gum arabic as GRAS and incorporates the FCC monograph by reference, and 21 CFR 172.780 does the same. No US federal or state rule requires conformity to an E number.
What is E 414?
E 414 is the EU's designation for gum arabic, and the number carries a purity monograph behind it in Regulation (EU) No 231/2012. A European label may declare either "E 414" or "gum arabic."
What did Regulation (EU) 2026/196 change for gum arabic?
It amended the E 414 monograph: arsenic 0.1 mg/kg, lead 0.05 mg/kg, mercury 0.05 mg/kg, cadmium 0.05 mg/kg, proteins 3.5 percent, and an aluminium limit of 100 mg/kg for foods for infants and young children and 200 mg/kg for all other uses. It applies from 18 August 2026.
Does E 414 apply to food production in the United States or Canada?
No. Both countries govern food production under domestic regulation and the E-number system has no legal standing in either. It becomes relevant when you export finished product into the European Union.
How do I tell which standard my gum acacia specification uses?
Read the regulatory or references line, then the version number and release date in the footer, then confirm the certificate of analysis for your lot cites the same version.
If you want the current specification and certificate of analysis for a grade you are qualifying, please get in touch.
Need current gum acacia documentation?
Our specifications are written to FCC. Samples ship with the current specification and the lot certificate of analysis.
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