FOOD INGREDIENTS

The global food industry (including in Hong Kong) uses various codes to summarise specific food additives, when manufacturing food products.

Here is a breakdown of what it represents and whether it is Halal, Unsure, or Haram.

CODE	WHAT IT MEANS	SOURCE	HALAL/HARAM
300	Antioxidant	Vitamin C	HALAL
535	Anticaking Agent	Sodium Ferrocyanide	HALAL
1520	Flavouring	Propylene Glycol	HALAL
481	Emulsifier	Sodium Stearoyl lactate	HALAL
482	Emulsifier	Calcium Lactylates	HALAL
282	Preservative	Calcium Propionate	HALAL
101	Colour	Vitamin B2	HALAL
300	Flour Treatment Agent	Vitamin C	HALAL
150a	Caramel	Caramel	HALAL
e440	Stabilizer	Extract from Plants	HALAL
e412	Stabilizer	Seed Extracts	HALAL
e410	Stabilizer	Bean Gum	HALAL
e407	Stabilizer	Red edible seaweeds	HALAL
e202	Preservative	Potassium Salt	HALAL
e331	Preservative	Sodium Citrate (Salt)	HALAL
e160a	Food Colour	Food Colouring	HALAL
e160b	Food Colour	Food Colouring	HALAL
472e	Emulsifier	only if Vegetable or Soy fat used. Else, not Halal	UNSURE
491	Emulsifier	only if Vegetable or Soy fat used. Else, not Halal	UNSURE
e477	Emulsifier	only if Vegetable or Soy fat used. Else, not Halal	UNSURE
e471	Emulsifier	only if Vegetable or Soy fat used. Else, not Halal	UNSURE
e492	Emulsifier	only if Vegetable or Soy fat used. Else, not Halal	UNSURE
e477	Emulsifier	only if Vegetable or Soy fat used. Else, not Halal	UNSURE
e492	Emulsifier	only if Vegetable or Soy fat used. Else, not Halal	UNSURE
1100	Flour Treatment Agent	Derived from mould mushroom or pig pancreas	HARAM
e920	Flour Treatment Agent	It may be derived from animal hair and feathers.	HARAM

If there is a code you have come across that is not on this list above, please visit: https://ecode.figlab.io/