E1503 — Castor oil
Why it’s used
A vegetable oil pressed from castor beans (Ricinus communis), composed mostly of ricinoleic acid triglycerides, giving it a uniquely viscous, adhesive texture. In food manufacturing it's used mainly as a release/anti-sticking agent in confectionery moulding and as a protective coating component on vitamin and mineral tablets, rather than as an ingredient eaten in bulk.
Other names
Ricinus communis seed oil, Ricinus oil, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil
Diet flags
Regulatory status
Permitted under 21 CFR 172.876 only for two narrow uses: as a release/anti-sticking agent in hard candy (not to exceed 500 ppm) and as a component of protective coatings on vitamin and mineral tablets, meeting USP specifications — not approved as a general-purpose food additive. Source (2026-07-24)
Castor oil does not appear in Annex II or Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008's Union list of authorised food additives; any EU use as a coating or carrier substance would need to rely on a different legal basis (e.g., as a component of a food supplement formulation) rather than a harmonised food-additive entry. Source (2026-07-24)
Regulatory status by region
Castor oil carries a legacy Codex/INS number (1503) and JECFA has evaluated it, but it does not appear in the EU's current Annex II or Annex III Union list of authorised food additives under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 — it is absent from both the UK's official retained-EU-law additives register and the European Commission's approved-additives guidance. The US, by contrast, has a real if narrow additive allowance under 21 CFR 172.876 for candy release agent and tablet coating use, so a product could legitimately carry an FDA-permitted castor oil use with no equivalent EU food-additive authorisation.
See the FDA detail: castor oil has an internationally recognised Codex/INS number and a narrow FDA food-additive allowance (candy release agent, tablet coating) under 21 CFR 172.876, but it is not part of the EU's current harmonised food-additive Union list, making this one of the additive codes where a real US-permitted use has no matching EU food-additive authorisation.
Found in these products
None of the products in our database currently contain E1503.