Search any food additive on an Indian packet by INS number, E-number, or common name. Plain-English answer: what it is, what it does, and whether it is veg.
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Match by INS number, E-number, common name, or alias (Ajinomoto, Chinese salt, cochineal, etc.).
INS 100 is curcumin, the bright yellow-orange pigment from turmeric (Curcuma longa). On packs it is used as a natural food colour, often where brands want to avoid synthetic dyes.
INS 102 is tartrazine, a synthetic lemon-yellow colour. It is used to give a bright, consistent yellow shade to drinks, sweets, savouries, and noodles where natural turmeric colour would be too earthy or fade too quickly.
INS 110 is Sunset Yellow FCF, a synthetic orange-yellow azo colour. It is used to give a bright, consistent orange-to-yellow shade to drinks, sweets, and savouries where a stable colour matters more than a natural origin.
INS 120 is carmine, also called cochineal or carminic acid. It is a deep red-pink colour made by drying and processing cochineal insects, small bugs that live on prickly-pear cactus in South America. The colour is used in foods, drinks, and cosmetics.
INS 160(b) is annatto, an orange-red colour extracted from the seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa orellana). On packs it is used to colour cheeses, butters, and bakery with a warm orange shade.
INS 200 is sorbic acid, a preservative that stops moulds and yeasts from growing in food. It is one of the most-used preservatives in Indian bakery, dairy, and packaged ready-to-eat items.
INS 202 is potassium sorbate, the potassium salt of sorbic acid (INS 200) and the more commonly used form on Indian packs because it dissolves in water. It does the same job as sorbic acid: stops moulds and yeasts from spoiling food.
INS 211 is sodium benzoate, the sodium salt of benzoic acid. It is a preservative that stops bacteria, yeasts, and moulds from growing in acidic foods like soft drinks, pickles, and ketchup.
INS 220 is sulphur dioxide, a preservative gas used to stop dried fruit, fruit pulps, and squashes from going brown and to keep yeasts and bacteria from growing. It is also widely used in winemaking.
INS 223 is sodium metabisulphite, a solid form of the sulphite preservative family that releases sulphur dioxide (INS 220) when added to food. It is used wherever a powder is easier to handle than the gas.
INS 296 is malic acid, the sour-sharp acid found naturally in apples and tamarind. On packs it is used as an acidulant, often where brands want a slower, deeper sourness than the quick zing of citric acid (INS 330).
INS 300 is ascorbic acid, the same compound as Vitamin C. On packs it is used as an antioxidant: it stops fats and colours from going off and keeps cut fruit and juices from browning.
INS 320 is BHA, short for butylated hydroxyanisole. It is a synthetic antioxidant that stops fats and oils from going rancid, used most often in fried snacks, biscuits, and chewing gum where the fat content is high and shelf life matters.
INS 321 is BHT, short for butylated hydroxytoluene. It is a synthetic antioxidant used to keep fats, oils, and dry mixes from going rancid, often paired with BHA (INS 320) for stronger protection.
INS 322 is lecithin, a family of phospholipids that act as emulsifiers and help oil and water mix. It is one of the oldest and most-used emulsifiers in chocolate, margarine, and bakery.
INS 330 is citric acid, the same sour-tang compound found naturally in lemons, oranges, and other citrus fruits. On packaged foods it is used to control acidity, sharpen flavour, or help keep the product fresh.
INS 339 is the family of sodium phosphates, used as buffering and sequestering agents. They control acidity, hold water in processed cheese and meat, stop minerals from clumping, and stabilise milk-based products.
INS 412 is guar gum, a thickener made from the seeds of the guar bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba). It is one of the workhorse thickeners on Indian packs, especially in ice cream, sauces, and gluten-free baking.
INS 415 is xanthan gum, a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris. It is a workhorse thickener and stabiliser in sauces, salad dressings, and gluten-free baking.
INS 440 is pectin, a gelling polysaccharide from fruit peels. It is the gelling agent in jams, jellies, and fruit preparations and is also used to set yoghurts and dairy desserts.
INS 471 is a family of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, used as emulsifiers. They help oil and water mix smoothly so the texture of bread, biscuits, ice cream, and chocolate stays uniform instead of separating or going grainy.
INS 500(ii) is sodium bicarbonate, the same compound as the baking soda in your kitchen. On packs it is used as a raising agent that releases carbon dioxide when heated, making baked goods rise.
INS 503 is ammonium bicarbonate, an old-school baking ammonia that releases carbon dioxide and ammonia gas when heated. It is used in flat, dry baked goods like crackers, biscuits, and matri where the moisture is low enough for the ammonia to escape cleanly.
INS 621 is monosodium glutamate, better known as MSG or by the brand name Ajinomoto. It is a flavour enhancer that brings out the savoury, meaty taste called umami, the same taste profile your tongue picks up from tomatoes, parmesan, and mushroom.
INS 627 is disodium guanylate, a flavour booster from the same family as disodium inosinate (INS 631). It is almost always paired with MSG (INS 621) in chips and noodle masala, where the combination tastes far stronger than any of them alone.
INS 631 is disodium inosinate, a flavour booster that makes salty snacks taste more savoury and intense. It is often paired with MSG (INS 621), so if you see both numbers on a chips or instant noodles pack they are usually doing the same 'extra tasty' job together.
INS 904 is shellac, a natural glazing resin secreted by the female lac insect (Kerria lacca) on tree branches in India and Thailand. On food it is used as a thin, glossy coating that gives candies, chocolates, and apples a polished shine and also seals in moisture.
INS 950 is acesulfame potassium (commonly written acesulfame K or ace-K), an intense sweetener about 200 times sweeter than sugar. On packs it is used in zero-sugar drinks, sugar-free chewing gum, and tabletop sweeteners, often blended with aspartame or sucralose to round out the taste.
INS 951 is aspartame, an intense sweetener about 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is widely used in diet soft drinks, sugar-free chewing gum, and tabletop sweeteners and is one of the most-studied food additives in history.
INS 955 is sucralose, an intense sweetener made from sugar by replacing three of its hydroxyl groups with chlorine. It is about 600 times sweeter than sugar and is used in diet drinks, sugar-free baking, and tabletop sweeteners.
Indian packed food carries a long ingredient list because FSSAI requires it. Anything beyond the obvious (atta, sugar, oil) is usually an additive that does a specific job: keeping bread soft, stopping ice cream from going icy, holding the colour of pickle for a year, making instant noodle masala taste of more than just salt. Each additive has an INS number set by Codex Alimentarius, so the same number means the same compound on a Maggi pack in Mumbai or a chocolate bar in Madrid.
INS vs E-numbers: India uses INS, Europe uses E. For most additives the digits are identical (E330 is the same as INS 330, both citric acid). The E prefix means the EU has approved the additive. A handful of INS additives have no E equivalent and vice versa, but for everyday Indian packets the two systems read the same.
The veg dot is your fastest signal: the green dot in a green square means the brand has declared the entire product, including all additives, is vegetarian. The brown dot in a brown square means non-vegetarian. The dot is mandatory under FSS Packaging and Labelling Regulations 2011. Some additives can be plant-based or animal-based depending on the manufacturer (mono- and diglycerides INS 471, disodium inosinate INS 631, lecithin INS 322), so the INS number alone does not always tell you. The dot does.
FSSAI permission, not blanket approval: when this site says "permitted by FSSAI", it means the additive is allowed in specified food categories with specified upper limits, not that it is unconditionally safe in any quantity. Some additives carry mandatory label declarations, infant-food restrictions, or category-specific caps. The detail page for each ingredient links to the relevant FSSAI rule and the JECFA evaluation behind it.
Covers: the most common additives on Indian packaged food labels. Each entry has the INS number, common name, plain-English explanation of what it does, why brands use it, the categories of products it usually shows up in, the FSSAI permission status with the relevant regulation, the JECFA international ADI evaluation, a four-state veg classification (vegan, vegetarian, source-dependent, animal-derived) with a clear explanation of how to tell from the pack, and the search aliases people actually type (Ajinomoto, Chinese salt, cochineal, GMS, etc.).
Does not cover: medical or dietary advice, country-by-country bans (we ship FSSAI status only until per-country claims are individually source-verified), nutrition label decoding, OCR of pack photos, or any prescriptive should-you-eat-this guidance. If you have an allergy, condition, or specific dietary need, consult a doctor or a registered dietitian.
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