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E418Stabiliser · Thickener

Gellan gum

What the research shows

Prototype

Not enough

published research on this page yet

1 health finding on this page so far · See the findings

A gelling agent made by fermenting sugar with bacteria.

It thickens, gels and stabilises foods like desserts, jams and drinks.

Written from Open Food Facts and English Wikipedia12

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • EU permitted

What research says

Studies in people

  • Benefit

    Blood sugar after meals3

    In people, cooking white rice with gellan gum led to lower blood sugar rises after eating.

How it’s made and used

  • How it is made4

    Gellan gum is made by bacteria during fermentation.

  • Gel formation behavior5

    Gellan gum forms a hard, clear gel when metallic ions are present, and it stays stable at low pH.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least two findings in people. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.

Regulatory status

Checked Sep 2026

Status reflects the named register on the date checked. It is not a safety rating.

How we check

Products

The 6 most-scanned of 3,584 products on Open Food Facts that list gellan gum.

  • Geröstete Mandel Ohne Zucker alpro · 1 l 3 additives
  • Alpro Mandeldrink, Original 1L Alpro · 1 l 2 additives
  • Alpro smooth subtle creamy oat alpro · 1 l 2 additives
  • Alpro tempting and tropical coco low fat Alpro · 1 l 3 additives
  • Rich and indulgent Hazelnut alpro · 1 l 2 additives
  • Coco Sans Sucres alpro · 1 l 3 additives

References

  1. 1Gellan gum: ingredient taxonomy entry. Open Food Facts.
  2. 2Gellan gum. Wikipedia. Accessed September 25, 2026.
  3. 3Alshammari NA, Riches K, Muttakin S, et al. Structuring white rice with gellan gum reduces the glycemic response in healthy humans. Food Res Int. 2024;196:115090. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2024.115090
  4. 4Prajapati VD, Jani GK, Zala BS, Khutliwala TA. An insight into the emerging exopolysaccharide gellan gum as a novel polymer. Carbohydr Polym. 2013;93(2):670-8. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2013.01.030
  5. 5Abdl Aali RAK, Al-Sahlany STG. Gellan Gum as a Unique Microbial Polysaccharide: Its Characteristics, Synthesis, and Current Application Trends. Gels. 2024;10(3). doi:10.3390/gels10030183