Is E476 halal? Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) explained

Updated October 20, 2026 by madebykamal

E476 is polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), an emulsifier used in chocolate and some spreads that is made from glycerol and castor oil. Halal Authority India lists it as halal if it is 100% from plant fat and haraam if it is from pork fat, SANHA lists it as mushbooh and asks you to check the source of the glycerol, and IFANCA lists it as questionable. This page reports who lists it how, not a ruling of its own: certifiers differ, so if you follow a particular certifier or school, check that one.

What E476 is

The UK's list of approved additives names E476 as "Polyglycerol polyricinoleate". The European Food Safety Authority's 2017 re-evaluation describes it as a mixture of products formed by esterifying polyglycerols with condensed castor oil fatty acids, and says it is manufactured from glycerol and castor oil. The castor oil fatty acids are mainly ricinoleic acid (80 to 90 percent), and the polyglycerol part can be made by polymerizing glycerol, or from glycidol or epichlorohydrin.

Industry told EFSA that PGPR is used as a viscosity modifier and to keep oil and water emulsions stable at high water content. In the EU it is authorized in cocoa and chocolate products, cocoa-based confectionery and coatings, certain spreadable fats, and dressings. In the United States, the FDA's inventory lists GRAS notice No. 9, for use in chocolate as an emulsifier at a level up to 0.3 percent, closed in March 1999 with the response that FDA has no questions. SANHA lists its uses as chocolate, drinking chocolate, chocolate ice cream, toppings, icings and cake mixes.

How it appears on a label

• E476, or 476. Halal Authority India's sheet lists it as 476 among numbers with no E prefix, and notes that E numbers follow the International Numbering System (INS).
• Polyglycerol polyricinoleate, the name on the UK list, or its abbreviation PGPR.
• Chemical names that EFSA gives as synonyms: glycerol esters of condensed castor oil fatty acids, polyglycerol esters of polycondensed fatty acids from castor oil, and polyglycerol esters of interesterified ricinoleic acid.
• Polyglycerol polyricinoleic acid, the name on the FDA's GRAS notice.

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What halal certifiers list

• Halal Authority India's E-number sheet, entry 476: "Halal if it is 100% from plant fat, Haraam if it is from pork fat".
• SANHA (South Africa): Mushbooh, with its source given as "From castor oil & glycerol esters. Check source of glycerol."
• IFANCA (US): its list of questionable E-numbers, published in its Halal Consumer Magazine (September 2001), gives E-476 (an emulsifier) the status Q1, and its Halal Shopper's Guide puts E-476 under Investigate Further, its category for components used in small quantities that can contain subcomponents from haram animals, alcohol, or halal animals slaughtered by non-Muslims.

Why the glycerol decides it in these listings

PGPR has two parts. The fatty acids come from castor oil, which EFSA notes is extracted from castor beans. The polyglycerol part is built from glycerol, and that is the part SANHA asks you to check. Halal Authority India asks the same question in its own words: halal if it is 100% from plant fat.

IFANCA's note on its Q1 group gives the general reason: these ingredients are made from plant oils, animal fats or synthetically, and many are combinations of fatty acids with glycerol, hence questionable or doubtful in nature. Glycerol on its own is E422, which Halal Authority India lists as mushbooh and IFANCA as questionable, so a castor oil base alone does not settle E476 in these listings. Certifiers differ, so if you follow a particular certifier or school, check how that one lists E476.

Soy lecithin, E442 and E476 on one label

E476 is often searched together with soy lecithin or with E442. They are different additives, and each is listed on its own.

• Soy lecithin is a lecithin, listed as E322 on the UK list, not E476. It is covered in the E322 guide on this site.
• E442 is ammonium phosphatides on the UK list. SANHA lists it as halaal, with its source given as a synthetic chemical and chocolate among its uses, while IFANCA gives E-442 the status Q1 and lists it under Investigate Further.

How to check a product that lists E476 or PGPR

• Look for a halal certification mark from a certifier you trust. IFANCA advises looking for halal certified products where the doubt has been cleared, and its Shopper's Guide says there is no substitute for authentic, certified halal products.
• Ask the manufacturer where the glycerol in the PGPR comes from, the question SANHA raises, and whether every fat in it is plant fat, the condition Halal Authority India sets.
• Check every other emulsifier on the label separately, since each code has its own listings.

Looking up E476 with Dalil

On a label with several emulsifiers, Dalil, a halal ingredient scanner for iPhone, can read the ingredient panel with the camera, ruling on each line as it comes into focus and filling a ledger as it goes, or take a typed E number. Each reading shows what published rulings say with a link to each one. It has no account, no sign in and no network code, so nothing you scan leaves the phone, and it never says a product is halal or certified: a certifier's mark on the package answers that.

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