Should I be concerned about supplements that contain Polysorbate 80? Is it safe?

Written by Tod Cooperman, M.D.

Updated December 06, 2021 ⓘ

Is Polysorbate 80 Safe? -- woman looking at supplement label

Answer:

Polysorbate 80 helps solubilize ingredients and is considered safe by the FDA for use in certain vitamin and vitamin-mineral preparations which can contain up to 475 milligrams per daily serving of polysorbate 80 (FDA Food Additive Status List). It is also used in food products such as frozen gelatin desserts. There are isolated reports of people who have had anaphylactoid reactions to polysorbate 80 from medication given subcutaneously (Price, Allergy Asthma Proc 2007) or intravenously (Coors, Ann Allergy Asthma Immol 2005), but not by mouth.

You can get information about other inactive ingredients used in making supplements from our article on Inactive Ingredients in Supplements.

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