Ingredient Index · E173

Is Aluminium banned in Europe?

Restricted in EU

Restricted in the EU, not banned: aluminium (E173) is authorized only for the external decoration of sugar confectionery and cake decoration. In the US, metallic aluminium is not approved as a general food color, so this is another case where the direction runs both ways.

E-number: E173CAS: 7429-90-5 Also seen as: Aluminum, E173, Aluminium powder, CI 77000

What the EU does

Authorized, but sharply narrowed. Aluminium was once used more broadly as a silver decorative color, but Commission Regulation (EU) No 380/2012 cut its permitted use for consumer-protection reasons down to the external coating of sugar confectionery and the decoration of cakes and pastries. It is the metallic sheen on some dragees and cake decorations, not a bulk colorant, and its use levels are governed by EFSA's tolerable weekly intake for aluminium.

So the honest verdict is "restricted," not "banned." E173 remains legal in the EU within that narrow decorative lane, which is the standard the EU applies to a colour it does not want in everyday food but has not fully prohibited.

Citation Commission Regulation (EU) No 380/2012 (amending Annex II to Reg (EC) No 1333/2008, aluminium-containing additives); EFSA opinion on aluminium (TWI)

What the US does

Not approved as a metallic food color. The FDA does not list elemental metallic aluminium as a color additive permitted for general food use. Where aluminium shows up in US food coloring, it is in the form of "aluminium lakes," which are approved dyes like FD&C Red No. 40 fixed onto an aluminium-hydroxide substrate, a different thing from the shiny metal itself.

That makes E173 one of the rare entries where the US is arguably the stricter jurisdiction on the specific ingredient: Europe permits metallic aluminium for decoration under tight limits, while the US color-additive system never cleared metallic aluminium as a general food color at all.

Citation FDA Color Additive Status List; 21 CFR Part 74 (aluminium lakes listed; metallic aluminium not approved as a general food color)

Products that commonly contain it

As a decorative metal color, E173 is a garnish, not a bulk ingredient. Abroad you may see it on:

Silver-colored dragees and sugar pearls on European cakes
Metallic decorations on pastries and celebration cakes
Some imported confectionery with a silvered finish

What to look for on a label

Tell the metal apart from the far more common aluminium lakes:

"E173" or "aluminium" on an EU confectionery or decoration label means the metallic color
"FD&C ... aluminium lake" on a US label is a dye on an aluminium substrate, not E173
If you are avoiding it, silver cake decorations are the main place to look

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Frequently asked questions

Is aluminium (E173) banned in Europe?

No, but it is tightly restricted. Regulation (EU) 380/2012 limits it to the external decoration of sugar confectionery and cakes; it is not allowed as a general food color.

Is E173 the same as the aluminium in US food dyes?

No. US food coloring uses "aluminium lakes," which are approved dyes bound to an aluminium-hydroxide base. E173 is metallic aluminium used as a decorative silver color, which the FDA does not approve as a general food color.

Is aluminium in food a health concern?

EFSA set a tolerable weekly intake for aluminium and narrowed E173's uses to keep dietary exposure down. Most aluminium intake comes from natural food content and packaging, not decorative color.

Related ingredients

Primary sources

Last reviewed July 20, 2026 · How we assign statuses