Sorbitol

Sorbitol is a six-carbon sugar alcohol, coded E 420 in the EU. It occurs naturally in stone fruits and is produced industrially by hydrogenating glucose. It is roughly 60 percent as sweet as table sugar and counts as 2.4 kcal per gram under EU labelling rules. Regulators have set no numerical ADI. JECFA and the EU list sorbitol as 'not specified', which signals low toxicological concern and moves the practical limit to the gut. EFSA has since opened a fresh re-evaluation of the polyols and called for further genotoxicity data on sorbitol, so this status may change. The digestive threshold is low compared with other polyols. Hyams showed in 1983 that 10 g already caused mild symptoms in most healthy volunteers and 20 g caused cramps and diarrhoea. Yao and colleagues later confirmed incomplete small-intestinal absorption as the mechanism. EU law requires a laxative warning above 10 percent added polyols. The benefit that survives scrutiny is dental. EFSA accepted in 2011 that sugar-free products sweetened with sorbitol help maintain tooth mineralisation and blunt the post-meal glucose rise relative to sugar. What is missing is outcome data. Sorbitol has never been examined for cardiometabolic endpoints in the way erythritol and xylitol recently have, so absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Last reviewed: August 25, 2026

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