Guar gum

A thickener obtained from the seeds of a legume. It is practically undigested and not absorbed intact, and enteric bacteria ferment it substantially. With no adverse effects at the highest doses in subchronic and carcinogenicity studies and no genotoxicity concern, EFSA concluded that no numerical intake limit is needed and there is no safety concern for the general population. One gap should be left in plain sight, though. For two categories of foods for special medical purposes for infants and young children, the panel stated that no adequate studies were available and the safety could not be assessed. That is not 'no problem' but 'no basis to judge'.

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Claimed harm

Safety concern for the general population at reported use levels

D / None

General population

JECFA evaluated it in 1970, 1974, and 1975 and allocated an intake limit of 'not specified', which the Scientific Committee for Food endorsed in 1977. EFSA judged the exposure and toxicity data adequate and re-evaluated it. Guar gum is practically undigested, is not absorbed intact, and is substantially fermented by enteric bacteria in humans. No adverse effects were reported at the highest doses in subchronic and carcinogenicity studies, there was no genotoxicity concern, and oral intake was well tolerated in adults. The conclusion is no numerical intake limit and no safety concern for the general population at the refined exposure assessment.

PMID: 32625396

Safety in foods for special medical purposes for infants (no data to assess)

D / None

Specific group (Infants and young children on foods for special medical purposes)

This entry says 'no basis to judge', not 'no harm'. EFSA stated that no adequate specific studies addressing the safety of guar gum in food categories 13.1.5.1 and 13.1.5.2 were available, and concluded that the data do not allow an adequate assessment of that use. For foods intended for infants and young children more broadly, it recommended monitoring the occurrence of abdominal discomfort and, if observed, identifying the doses as a basis for further risk assessment. The point of this entry is not to read absence of evidence as evidence of safety.

PMID: 32625396

The conclusion is that no numerical daily intake limit is needed. Two categories of foods for special medical purposes for infants and young children (13.1.5.1 and 13.1.5.2) are not covered by it, for lack of data.

Journal quotations are checked character by character against the original. Quotations from Korean MFDS documents are outside that automated check and were verified by hand.

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Sources

Each source shows its one-line summary and key summary up front. Expand the collapsed section to read the original abstract. Every citation is verified by re-resolving through the API.

PMID 32625396 Re-evaluation of guar gum (E 412) as a food additive Agency re-evaluation opinion · EFSA Journal, 2017 No numerical intake limit and no safety concern for the general population. But safety in foods for special medical purposes for infants could not be assessed for lack of data.

Key summary

An EFSA Panel opinion re-evaluating guar gum (E 412). JECFA allocated an intake limit of 'not specified' in 1970, 1974, and 1975, endorsed by the Scientific Committee for Food in 1977. Guar gum is practically undigested, not absorbed intact, and substantially fermented by enteric bacteria in humans. No adverse effects appeared at the highest doses in subchronic and carcinogenicity studies, there was no genotoxicity concern, and oral intake was well tolerated in adults. The conclusion is no numerical intake limit and no safety concern for the general population. For foods intended for infants and young children the panel recommended monitoring abdominal discomfort and, if observed, identifying doses for further assessment, and stated that for food categories 13.1.5.1 and 13.1.5.2 no adequate studies were available to assess safety.

Show original abstract

The Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS) provides a scientific opinion re-evaluating the safety of guar gum (E 412) as a food additive. In the EU, guar gum was evaluated by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) in 1970, 1974 and 1975, who allocated an acceptable daily intake (ADI) 'not specified'. Guar gum has been also evaluated by the Scientific Committee for Food (SCF) in 1977 who endorsed the ADI 'not specified' allocated by JECFA. Following the conceptual framework for the risk assessment of certain food additives re-evaluated under Commission Regulation (EU) No 257/2010, the Panel considered that adequate exposure and toxicity data were available. Guar gum is practically undigested, not absorbed intact, but significantly fermented by enteric bacteria in humans. No adverse effects were reported in subchronic and carcinogenicity studies at the highest dose tested; no concern with respect to the genotoxicity. Oral intake of guar gum was well tolerated in adults. The Panel concluded that there is no need for a numerical ADI for guar gum (E 412), and there is no safety concern for the general population at the refined exposure assessment of guar gum (E 412) as a food additive. The Panel considered that for uses of guar gum in foods intended for infants and young children the occurrence of abdominal discomfort should be monitored and if this effect is observed doses should be identified as a basis for further risk assessment. The Panel considered that no adequate specific studies addressing the safety of use of guar gum (E 412) in food categories 13.1.5.1 and 13.1.5.2 were available. Therefore, the Panel concluded that the available data do not allow an adequate assessment of the safety of guar gum (E 412) in infants and young children consuming these foods for special medical purposes. ※ The abstract text as collected and stored via the API by the pipeline. The key summary is written based solely on this text.

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Revision history

The full history of when and how this ingredient's evidence changed (git commits = proof of trust).

2026-08-18 First edition - two assessments (safety concern for the general population D/none, and no data to assess foods for special medical purposes for infants D/none, subgroup). No-concern badge. Source: the EFSA re-evaluation (2017). Abstract extracted mechanically. The point of this file is not to convert 'no data' into 'safe'.