INS 341 is the family of calcium phosphates, the calcium salts of phosphoric acid. On Indian packs they show up in baking powder (the 341(i) MCP form is the acid half of double-acting baking powder), calcium-fortified milk drinks and lassi, atta fortification, biscuits and bakery, infant formula, and powdered drink mixes (as an anti-caking agent). It is generally vegan and is permitted by FSSAI for specified food categories.
INS 341 is the family of calcium phosphates, the calcium salts of phosphoric acid. On Indian packs they show up in baking powder (the 341(i) MCP form is the acid half of double-acting baking powder), calcium-fortified milk drinks and lassi, atta fortification, biscuits and bakery, infant formula, and powdered drink mixes (as an anti-caking agent).
Brands use it because calcium phosphate gives a usable calcium source that survives the heat and shear of biscuit and milk-powder manufacturing, and 341(i) doubles as the acid half of a double-acting baking powder when paired with sodium bicarbonate. The 'double-acting' part means the powder releases some carbon dioxide when the batter is mixed and the rest when the oven heats it up, which gives a more reliable rise than single-acting tartaric-acid-based powders. 341(iii) TCP is added at low doses to powdered drink mixes and salt to keep the powder free-flowing instead of clumping.
INS 341 commonly shows up on Indian packets in these categories:
Calcium phosphates are produced by neutralising phosphoric acid with calcium hydroxide or calcium carbonate (limestone). The plant-based or mineral-based source means no animal product is used in their manufacture. Calcium phosphate also occurs naturally in bone and dairy, but the food-grade additive is produced from limestone-derived calcium carbonate rather than from animal bone, except in rare bone-derived 'calcium phosphate (bone source)' formulations which are uncommon on Indian shelves and would be separately declared on the label.
FSSAI: Permitted by FSSAI as a calcium fortifier, raising agent, anti-caking agent, and flour treatment agent under Schedule I of the FSS (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations 2011 for specified food categories with category-specific upper limits, often expressed as phosphorus. Use in infant formula is regulated separately under the FSS (Foods for Infant Nutrition) Regulations 2020 where the calcium-phosphate contribution is part of the mandatory mineral profile.
JECFA: JECFA's 26th meeting (1982) established a group MTDI of 70 mg/kg body weight expressed as phosphorus for the phosphate group (phosphoric acid INS 338 plus phosphates INS 339-343 plus diphosphates / triphosphates / polyphosphates INS 450-452); this MTDI is still on the JECFA record. EFSA's 2019 re-evaluation set a more conservative group ADI of 40 mg/kg body weight per day expressed as phosphorus for the same group (E338-E341, E343, E450-E452), citing exposure-exceedance findings in adolescents and cardiovascular-kidney evidence in the CKD population; JECFA has not aligned with this revision. JECFA noted that phosphorus is an essential nutrient and an unavoidable constituent of food, so an ADI in the traditional sense was considered inappropriate; the MTDI is a tolerable-intake ceiling rather than an acceptable-daily-intake target.
On packets, in recipes, and in conversation, INS 341 is also called:
Last verified: 2026-05-12.