GoodSwap Get notified

Food additive · Sweetener (polyol)

Lactitol

E-number
E966

A sugar alcohol made from lactose.

  • Food additive
  • Sugar alcohol (polyol)
  • Ultra-processing marker
  • Expert review pending
Low concern Level 1 of 4 How concern levels work

A minor or very limited concern, such as being an ultra-processing marker only. The concern level sets how many points lactitol costs on a product’s receipt.

What the evidence says

  • Laxative effect in large amountsRegulatory

    Large amounts can have a laxative effect; the EU requires a label statement above 10% added polyols and the US for some polyols above set intakes. [1][2]

Evidence tiers say how sure the evidence is, separately from how much it matters. About evidence tiers.

Popular products that list lactitol

2 of the 17,000 most-scanned products in the US with a GoodSwap page list lactitol.

Diets and allergens

Vegan
Yes
Vegetarian
Yes
Gluten-free
Yes

For the ingredient in general. Always check the package: a product’s own labels win.

Names GoodSwap recognizes on labels (2)
  • e966
  • lactitol

Sources

  1. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex III point 2.4 (foods with more than 10 % added polyols)

    European Union (Official Journal) · Oct 25, 2011 · Law

    “‘excessive consumption may produce laxative effects’.”

    eur-lex.europa.eu

  2. 21 CFR 184.1835 Sorbitol

    Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), U.S. Office of the Federal Register · Nov 22, 2016 · Law

    ““Excess consumption may have a laxative effect.””

    ecfr.gov