E1510 — Ethanol
Why it’s used
The alcohol produced by fermenting plant sugars (or manufactured synthetically), used in food production as a solvent and carrier for flavour extracts and food colours, as an antimicrobial surface treatment, and of course as the intoxicating component of alcoholic beverages themselves. Outside beverages, it's typically present only as a processing aid that evaporates or remains at trace levels in the finished product.
Other names
Ethyl alcohol, Grain alcohol, EtOH
Diet flags
Regulatory status
Affirmed GRAS under 21 CFR 184.1293 for specific direct food uses only — e.g., as an antimicrobial agent in pizza crust (not to exceed 2.0%) and as a preservative in croissant fillings (0.3%) — rather than as an unrestricted general-purpose additive. Source (2026-07-24)
Authorised EU-wide as an extraction solvent under Directive 2009/32/EC (Annex I), used for example in decaffeination and flavour-extract production; it is not listed as a standalone additive in Annex II/III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008. Source (2026-07-24)
Regulatory status by region
Ethanol's FDA allowance is a set of specific, capped direct-food uses under 21 CFR 184.1293, separate from its self-evident role as the alcohol in beverages. The EU does not carry ethanol as a standalone Annex II/III food additive under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 either; its principal EU food-law basis is as an authorised extraction solvent under Directive 2009/32/EC (e.g., for decaffeination and flavour extraction), alongside its inherent presence in alcoholic beverages, which are regulated separately from the additives framework in both jurisdictions.
See the FDA detail: both jurisdictions permit ethanol's processing-aid/solvent functions, but neither treats it as a general Annex-style food additive — the US caps it to a short list of direct-food uses under 21 CFR 184.1293, while the EU authorises it as an extraction solvent under a separate directive rather than the food-additives regulation.
Found in these products
None of the products in our database currently contain E1510.