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E444Emulsifier · Stabiliser

Sucrose acetate isobutyrate

What the research shows

No concerns

none of the findings here link it to harm

A food additive also called SAIB.

It helps mix ingredients that normally separate and keeps them steady.1

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • EU permitted

What research says

Studies in people

  • No harm found

    Liver and bile health2

    In people, eating sucrose acetate isobutyrate daily for two weeks did not change liver or bile tests.

How it’s made and used

  • Daily intake limits3

    Sucrose acetate isobutyrate is a food additive, and experts set a daily intake limit of 20 mg per kg of body weight.

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 one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. 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.

What expert reviews concluded

Expert panels that weigh all the research. Shown for context: the signal at the top does not count them.

Regulatory status

Checked Sep 2026

Status reflects the named register on the date checked. It is not a safety rating. A country appears here once we've found this ingredient on its official list.

How we check

Products

The 6 most-scanned of 454 products on Open Food Facts that list sucrose acetate isobutyrate.

  • Fanta Naranja Fanta · 2 L 10 additives
  • Orange squash Robinsons 8 additives
  • Double Concentrate Orange Squash No Added Sugar Robinsons · 1,75 L 9 additives
  • Orange Squash Robinsons 9 additives
  • THIRST QUENCHER GATORADE · 28oz 6 additives
  • Zero Sugar Thirst Quencher Orange Gatorade 8 additives

References

  1. 1Sucrose acetate isobutyrate. Wikipedia. Accessed September 26, 2026. CC BY-SA 4.0.
  2. 2Chiang M, Gray K, Chappel CI. Effect of sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB) ingestion on the hepatobiliary function of normal human male and female volunteers. Food Chem Toxicol. 1998;36(2):141-4. doi:10.1016/s0278-6915(97)80305-5
  3. 3EFSA Panel on Food additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS). Re-evaluation of sucrose acetate isobutyrate (E 444) as a food additive. EFSA J. 2016;14(5):e04489. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4489