Photograph the ingredients list. Each E code is read, and its sheet says where it comes from and what it changes for your profile.
3 free readings, then a subscription.
No account, no email.
On iPhone? Coming soon. Get notified
The same E471 can come from rapeseed or from animal fat. Lanatag shows you what the label says, and what it does not say.
What European regulation says, and what Lanatag shows when it reads the code on the label.
An emulsifier made from fats: rapeseed, palm, sunflower, or animal fat. European regulation allows both, and the packaging does not have to say which.
What answers it: the words “of vegetable origin”, or a halal certification of the product.
A red colour extracted from the cochineal. It is found in sweets, fruit yoghurts and drinks.
For halal, opinions differ between schools: Lanatag does not decide. E120 is neither vegetarian nor vegan.
Gelatin is often made from pork, otherwise from beef or fish.
Pork: to skip for a halal profile. Beef: halal only if the animal was slaughtered according to the rite, which only a certification can tell. Fish: no slaughter involved.
In the European Union, gelatin is an ingredient, not an additive: it is written out in full. The code E441 can still be seen on some packaging.
Lanatag’s sheet says so: “This code is not on the list of additives authorised in the European Union.”
A humectant: it keeps cakes and sweets soft. Its European definition requires vegetable oils and fats (Regulation (EU) 2023/1329).
The rule applies to food sold in the European Union.
An emulsifier most often taken from soy or sunflower, sometimes from egg. None of these sources raises a question for halal.
Lanatag’s sheet shows “possible animal origin”, because the regulation does not fix the source. “Soy lecithin” on the label answers it. Soy is an allergen: it must be declared.
The enzyme that makes milk curdle. It comes from the calf’s stomach, or from micro-organisms: many industrial cheeses use a microbial coagulant.
For a halal profile, animal rennet is debated between schools. “Rennet” alone does not give the origin; “microbial coagulant” does.
3 free readings, then a subscription.
Scan the pack: the ingredients list arrives, and the doubtful E code is marked. With no barcode, photograph the label.
The barcode is read in the Open Food Facts database.
3 free readings, then a subscription.
The app asks for no account and no email.
On Android now, iPhone coming soon.
One message, on release day. PrivacyIt depends on its origin. Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids come from plant or animal fats, and the code alone does not say which. When the label states “of vegetable origin”, the question goes away. Otherwise, Lanatag puts it on “Caution”.
E120 is taken from the cochineal, an insect. Opinions differ between schools: Lanatag does not decide, and puts it on “Caution”. E120 is neither vegetarian nor vegan.
Only if the animal was slaughtered according to the rite. The label “beef gelatin” does not say so: only a halal certification of the product answers. Pork gelatin is not halal. Fish gelatin depends on no slaughter.
Gelatin. In Europe it is not on the list of additives: it is an ingredient, written out in full. Lanatag’s sheet says so when it meets this code.
Its European definition (Regulation (EU) 231/2012, amended by Regulation (EU) 2023/1329) requires vegetable oils and fats. Lanatag’s sheet shows the origin “Plant” and nothing to flag for a halal profile.
It comes most often from soy or sunflower, sometimes from egg: none of these sources raises a question for halal. The label often gives the source, for example “soy lecithin”.
Microbial rennet raises no question. Animal rennet, taken from the calf’s stomach, is debated between schools. Many labels only write “rennet”: only a more precise mention or a certification answers.
No. It reads the ingredients list and shows what it finds, with the reason: pork, alcohol, possible animal origin. It replaces neither a certification nor a question to the maker.
Sources: Regulation (EC) 1333/2008 · Regulation (EU) 231/2012 · Regulation (EU) 2023/1329 · Food Standards Agency · Wikipedia, gelatin · Wikipedia, rennet · Wikipedia, carminic acid.