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Gellan Gum

Also known as: E418, Gellan

A purified fermentation-derived thickener whose technical function, tolerance data and infant-food assessments answer different questions.

A translucent monotype study of a pale gel-like slab with an irregular edge on cream paper.
Editorial illustration

Gellan gum is a fermentation-derived polysaccharide used to stabilize and thicken foods. U.S. rules specify its production, purity and use conditions. Safety assessments concern defined food exposures. The limited adult tolerance evidence does not establish a constipation-treatment or probiotic benefit.1, 2

  • 21 CFR 172.665 requires the additive to be free of viable cells of its production organism.1
  • EFSA described a small adult study with variable transit-time responses, rather than a consistent acceleration of transit.2
  • JECFA's database identifies the 2025 entry as a specifications-only evaluation and separately records its 2019 infant-food assessment.3

What is Gellan Gum?

The U.S. definition describes a high-molecular-weight polymer produced by microbial fermentation and purified to remove viable production cells. The specified ingredient can contain acyl groups. Its manufacturing identity helps explain why the same name can cover materials with differing physical behavior.1, 3

Where it comes from

Natural sources

  • A microbial polysaccharide produced through controlled fermentation.

How it's made

Recovery and purification yield the specified food-grade ingredient.

What it does in products

  • Food stabilization and thickening
  • Gelling in specified food applications

Benefits

Digestive-treatment benefit remains unestablished

insufficient evidence

A tolerance observation is an incomplete basis for a clinical claim.2

EFSA summarized a 23-day study in ten healthy volunteers. Fecal bulking occurred in most, while transit responses went in different directions. This small tolerance study did not establish relief of diagnosed constipation or a microbiome treatment effect.

Evidence scope and limitations

U.S. food-grade identity, EFSA's final 2018 safety opinion and JECFA's 2019 and 2025 evaluation entries.

  • The small adult study is summarized in EFSA's assessment. Its original unpublished documentation was not independently available.
  • The cited food assessments establish neither a therapeutic dose nor efficacy in diagnosed constipation.
  • Infant-use conclusions refer to specified materials and exposures. A database specification update does not expand those conclusions.

Evidence last checked: 2026-11-13

Side effects & safety

Digestive response may vary with exposure (varies)The small adult study reported differing transit responses. It cannot characterize every concentrated intake or population.

Safety considerations

  • The food assessments do not provide a comprehensive medicine-interaction profile.
  • Not for: JECFA's infant conclusion concerned low-acyl clarified gellan in specified special-medical-purpose foods. It should not be used as a home-feed formulation instruction.
2, 3

Amounts studied & product use

These figures describe research or common product use, not a personal dose or treatment recommendation.

In manufactured foods

U.S. use follows good manufacturing practice, applicable food standards and the ingredient's directions. The adult study used 175–200 mg/kg body weight/day over 23 days. That experimental exposure is not a recommended intake or a demonstrated laxative dose.

1, 2

Regulatory status

  • 21 CFR 172.665 permits the specified additive as a stabilizer and thickener under its conditions. JECFA's acceptable daily intake is listed as not specified, a technical safety-assessment designation rather than an unlimited personal allowance.
1, 3

Two dates in one safety record

JECFA's 2019 evaluation addressed low-acyl clarified gellan in specified infant applications. The 2025 entry concerns specifications only. Reading both prevents a newer database date from being interpreted as a fresh clinical trial or a broader infant-use conclusion.

The U.S. rule also specifies removal of viable production cells. A fermentation origin alone therefore cannot establish that the finished additive acts as a probiotic.

3, 1

Frequently asked questions

Does a gelling role imply a medical benefit?

Gelling and stabilization describe food functions. The cited assessments address identity, exposure and safety, with insufficient clinical evidence here to establish a digestive treatment.1, 2, 3

The bottom line

Read the ingredient specification and assessed exposure before transferring a food-texture function into a health claim.

References

  1. 21 CFR 172.665: Gellan gum. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · government guidance · Current fermentation identity, removal of viable production cells, specifications and GMP conditions checked November 13, 2026
  2. EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food. Re-evaluation of gellan gum (E 418) as food additive. EFSA Journal (2018) · safety assessment · DOI 10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5296; final opinion, adult tolerance study and assessed food-exposure scope checked
  3. Gellan gum — JECFA evaluations. World Health Organization / Joint FAO-WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives · safety assessment · Dynamic agency record checked November 13, 2026; 2025 meeting 100 concerned specifications only, 2019 meeting 87 concerned low-acyl clarified gellan in specified infant foods; publication date not assigned

Revision history

  1. Initial AI-assisted source compilation with claim-level citations, formulation distinctions and explicit evidence limitations; not independent medical review.