Erythritol
E968
E968, INS 968, erythritol, meso-erythritol, erythrite, tetrahydroxybutane, eritritol
What it is
Erythritol (INS 968 / E968) is a four-carbon polyol made commercially by fermenting carbohydrates and purifying the resulting erythritol. It is used as a sweetener and humectant and is absorbed much more completely than most other common polyols.
Why BOTIA flags it
Erythritol is the polyol that behaves least like the others: about 90% is absorbed and passed out in urine unchanged, so very little reaches the colon and there is little left for gut bacteria to ferment. That is why it usually causes less gas than more poorly absorbed polyols such as sorbitol or maltitol, although large single amounts can still cause diarrhoea. JECFA assigned an ADI “not specified”; EFSA later set an ADI of 0.5 g/kg body weight per day.
BOTIA CAN
- Detect E968, INS 968, erythritol, meso-erythritol and erythrite when explicitly declared.
- Explain its unusually high absorption, urinary excretion, low colonic fermentation, comparatively low gas production and the diarrhoea that can occur with large single amounts.
BOTIA CANNOT
- Determine how much erythritol is present from the ingredient list alone.
- Predict an individual's digestive tolerance or determine whether intake exceeds a body-weight-based amount without knowing the quantity consumed.