Shellac (INS 904)

Quick Facts

INS Number

904

E-Number

E904

Category

Glazing Agent

Veg Status

Animal-derived

FSSAI Status

Permitted by FSSAI

JECFA ADI

Not specified (1993)

Composition

Not a single compound. Shellac is a natural resin secreted by the female lac insect (Kerria lacca, also known as Laccifer lacca, Coccidae family) on host trees in India and Thailand. The crude resin is collected, melted, filtered, and either bleached or used as is. It is a complex mixture of polyhydroxy polycarboxylic esters and other natural polymers.

What is INS 904?

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.

Why brands add it

Brands use it because a thin layer turns boiled sweets, sugar-coated nuts, and pan-drop confections glossy without any sticky aftertaste. It also keeps coated tablets and chocolates from absorbing moisture in humid Indian conditions. The same resin is the base of furniture polish.

Where you'll find it

INS 904 commonly shows up on Indian packets in these categories:

• boiled sweets and sugar-coated confections
• chocolate-coated nuts and panned chocolates
• fruit-coating wax (apples, citrus)
• pharmaceutical sugar coatings
• chewing gum

Veg or non-veg? - Animal-derived

Shellac comes from the lac insect (Kerria lacca). The resin is harvested by scraping it from tree branches where the insects have built it up; the process kills or excludes the insects. Foods coated with shellac are not vegetarian or vegan even by the broadest definitions, and Indian rules require the non-vegetarian dot logo on packs containing it. Strict vegetarians, jains, and vegans should avoid products listing shellac, INS 904, or E904.

FSSAI status and JECFA evaluation

FSSAI: Permitted by FSSAI as a glazing agent under Schedule I of the FSS (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations 2011 for specified food categories. Foods containing shellac must be declared non-vegetarian under FSS labelling rules.

JECFA: JECFA evaluated shellac in 1992-1993 and was unable to allocate an ADI due to limited toxicological data. EFSA's 2024 re-evaluation derived an ADI of 4 mg/kg body weight per day (provisional) for chemically-bleached wax-free shellac, based on a 90-day rat NOAEL of 400 mg/kg bw and a 100-fold safety factor.

Also known as

On packets, in recipes, and in conversation, INS 904 is also called: