Food additive databasethickener / stabilizerChecked 2026-10-02
Calcium Carboxymethylcellulose (Calcium Cellulose Glycolate) カルボキシメチルセルロースカルシウム（別名繊維素グリコール酸カルシウム）
Designated additiveNot on the EU additive list
- Purpose
- thickener / stabilizer
- On the label
- “増粘剤（CMC-Ca）” (thickener (CMC-Ca)), “安定剤（CMC-Ca）” (stabilizer (CMC-Ca)), “糊料（繊維素グリコール酸Ca）” (thickening agent (cellulose glycolate Ca))
- Name in the List of Designated Additives
- カルボキシメチルセルロースカルシウム（別名繊維素グリコール酸カルシウム） (No. 103)
In Japan
- A thickening agent (“糊料”) used to thicken or stabilize. Under the standards for use, the amount that can be used is set at up to 2.0% of the food.
- When used as a thickener, stabilizer, or gelling agent (“糊料”), it is written together with its purpose name. Simplified names are “CMC-Ca” and “繊維素グリコール酸Ca” (cellulose glycolate Ca).
Japan's standards for use
- Up to 2.0% of the food (when used together with sodium carboxymethylcellulose and sodium starch glycolate, the total amount used must be up to 2.0%).
This is a summary of the standards for use. See the source list for the exact conditions.
In the EU
- It is not on the EU list of food additives (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II), so it cannot be used as a food additive in the EU.
- E466 in the EU is the sodium salt of carboxymethylcellulose; the calcium salt is not listed in the Union list of food additives (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II).
When it is labeled under a shared name
Calcium Carboxymethylcellulose (Calcium Cellulose Glycolate) may be declared on the label in the same way as “増粘剤・安定剤・ゲル化剤”. See Thickener / stabilizer / gelling agent for details.
Sources
- List of Designated Additives — Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation (Japanese)
- Standards for use and storage of each additive — Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation (Japanese)
- EU food additive database (Japanese translation) — MAFF (Japanese)
- Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives — EUR-Lex
- 消費者庁「食品表示基準について」別添 添加物関係（簡略名・用途名併記・一括名・栄養強化の範囲） (Japanese)
Checked 2026-10-02. Rules and evaluations change over time. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.
This page lists facts stated in laws and in evaluations by public bodies; it is not a safety verdict. Additives used in Japan are approved by the government, which sets the foods and amounts they can be used in. The ADI is a guide to the amount that is considered safe to take every day over a lifetime.
Other substances used as thickener / stabilizer
- Acetylated Distarch Adipate
- Acetylated Oxidized Starch
- Acetylated Distarch Phosphate
- Ammonium Alginate
- Potassium Alginate
- Calcium Alginate
- Sodium Alginate
- Propylene Glycol Alginate
- Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose (Sodium Cellulose Glycolate)
- Starch Acetate
- Oxidized Starch
- Sodium Carboxymethylstarch
- Hydroxypropyl Distarch Phosphate
- Hydroxypropyl Starch
- Sodium Polyacrylate
- Polyvinylpyrrolidone
- Methyl Cellulose
- Distarch Phosphate
- Monostarch Phosphate
- Phosphated Distarch Phosphate
- Aureobasidium cultured solution
- Agrobacterium Succinoglycan
- Linseed gum / Linseed extract
- Gum Arabic
- Arabino galactan
- Alginic Acid
- Welan Gum
- Cassia gum
- Gum Ghatti
- Carrageenan
- Karaya Gum
- Carob Bean Gum / Locust Bean Gum
- Xanthan Gum
- Chitin
- Guar Gum
- Enzymatically Hydrolyzed Guar Gum
- Psyllium Seed Gum
- Gellan Gum
- Tamarind Seed Gum
- Tara Gum
- Dextran
- Tragacanth Gum
- Tororoaoi
- Furcellaran
- Fukuronori Extract
- Pectin
- Macrophomopsis Gum
- Peach gum
- Rhamsan Gum