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E296

Malic acid

What the research shows

Prototype

No concerns

none of the findings here link it to harm

2 health findings on this page, all in people · See the findings

An acid found in fruits.

It adds a sour taste to food.

Written from Open Food Facts and English Wikipedia12

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • EU permitted

What research says

Studies in people

  • No harm found

    Fibromyalgia pain and mood3

    In people with fibromyalgia, taking malic acid with magnesium made little or no difference to pain or low mood.

  • Benefit

    Kidney stone risk4

    In people, malic acid raised urine pH and citrate, which may help prevent calcium kidney stones.

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 14,048 products on Open Food Facts that list malic acid.

  • Sablés Anglais L'Original McVitie's · 400 g 3 additives
  • Pringles sour cream & onion Pringles · 40 g 8 additives
  • Pringles Sour Cream Pringles · 165 g 7 additives
  • Wraps Multigrains Gruma · 370 g 4 additives
  • Digestives The ORIGINAL McVitie's · 360 g 3 additives
  • SNACK POPPÉ TOO GOOD · 85 g 2 additives

References

  1. 1Malic acid: ingredient taxonomy entry. Open Food Facts.
  2. 2Malic acid. Wikipedia. Accessed September 25, 2026.
  3. 3Ferreira I, Ortigoza Á, Moore P. Magnesium and malic acid supplement for fibromyalgia. Medwave. 2019;19(4):e7633. doi:10.5867/medwave.2019.04.7632
  4. 4Rodgers AL, Webber D, de Charmoy R, Jackson GE, Ravenscroft N. Malic acid supplementation increases urinary citrate excretion and urinary pH: implications for the potential treatment of calcium oxalate stone disease. J Endourol. 2014;28(2):229-36. doi:10.1089/end.2013.0477