Chapter 11: The supporting cast · Part 2: Thickeners
Xanthan gum
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The worst fact: by September 2012, the US FDA had identified 22 infants (21 born premature) who developed necrotising enterocolitis (a serious bowel disease) after being fed SimplyThick, a xanthan-gum thickener. Seven died. The FDA said further study was needed to show whether it was the cause.
Why brands use it: it's a thickener (a "viscosity-increasing agent").
Take care if: you handle the powder at work: workers handling the powder reported nose and throat irritation.
Comes from: bacteria (Xanthomonas campestris) fermenting a sugar; the gum is recovered with ethanol or isopropanol.
Myth check: no common myth we could source.
Contaminants: nil. (Food grade allows up to 500 mg/kg of leftover ethanol and isopropanol.)
Fair to say: the EU's food safety authority found "no safety concern for the general population" and saw no need for a daily limit.
Correct as of November 2026. What the badges mean
Sources
- EFSA. Re-evaluations of xanthan gum (E415, 2017, 2023), guar gum (E412, 2017), dimethyl polysiloxane (E900, 2020); titanium dioxide (E171, 2021).
- Woods CW et al. Necrotizing enterocolitis and xanthan gum thickener. J Pediatr 2012.
The full source list is at the end of Chapter 11.