By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Alternate Names: calcium octadecanoate; octadecanoic acid, calcium salt; stearic acid, calcium salt; calcium distearate; E470a

Commercial Source: mineral-plant

Used in: dry mixes, spices, salt, snack foods, confections, pastries, chewing gum, yeast, dietary supplements

Used as: anti-caking agent, binder, emulsifier, lubricant, release agent, flavoring additive, stabilizer, thickener

Definition: Calcium stearate formed from a reaction between a calcium-containing compound and either a stearate-containing compound or stearic acid is often used as an anti-caking agent in food or as a release agent or lubricant in pharmaceuticals and confections. Many non-food industries such as personal care, construction and paper also use calcium stearate.

Manufacturers:

http://www.acme-hardesty.com/product/calcium-stearate/

Email reply: “Our vegetable-based calcium…stearate is made from palm oil.” Phone response: Food grade vegetable-based calcium stearate is “typically the industry standard” today.

http://www2.mallinckrodt.com/active_pharmaceutical_ingredients/stearates/

(vegetable source listed by clicking on number to the left of chemical name under list titled “Stearate Products”)

http://www.standardprocess.com/FAQ

http://www.peter-greven.de/en/products-applications/applications/food-additives/

http://www.silverfernchemical.com/products/calcium-stearate/

Silver Fern told The VRG on the phone that “…the standard today is vegetable-based [stearates] especially for food use.”

http://www.seidlerchem.com/calcium-stearate.htm

A Seidler Chemical employee told The VRG that “in all of the pharmaceutical industry no one wants tallow-based calcium stearate…I haven’t received a call for [tallow-based calcium stearate] in years for pharmaceuticals or food.”

http://www.brenntagspecialties.com/en/pages/Markets_IndustriesServed/Food/Stearates/index.html

Looking at sales data from 2007 to the present, a Brenntag Specialties employee said that “almost all” or “a big majority” of all calcium stearate sold was vegetable-based although they do carry a food grade, tallow-based calcium stearate.

http://www.brenntagnortheast.com/en/pages/Products/Complete_List/index.html#C

A Brenntag NE employee told The VRG that a food-grade, tallow-based calcium stearate “is not sold anymore…”

http://www.pentamfg.com/search (enter “calcium stearate”; click on Dietary Statement PDF in the bottom right corner for a vegan declaration)

An employee emailed The VRG that their calcium stearate has “no animal involved.”

http://www.sifengbio.com/proen/typeid/4.html

An employee emailed The VRG that “…our food grade calcium stearate is from plant fat, not animal fat.”

http://www.specialitychemicalmanufacturers.com/calcium-stearate-1288714.html#inq

This Indian company sells food grade calcium stearate derived from “edible tallow.”

http://www.prathamstearchem.com/calcium_stearate.html

Additional Information:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2011-title21-vol3/pdf/CFR-2011-title21-vol3-sec184-1229.pdf

http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/SCOGS/ucm261238.htm

http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/15324#section=Top

http://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/2013oct_1.php#s14

http://www.google.com/patents/EP1499197A2?cl=en

(paragraph 12 in section titled Description and throughout section titled Materials and Methods)

Classification: Vegan* Although it is possible to derive calcium stearate from animal fats, it is not standard practice today in the food industry and no examples of tallow-derived calcium stearate in foods or pharmaceuticals are known.

Entry Updated: August 2015

For information about more ingredients, see
http://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php

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The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgement about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.