# \~Uses and Safety **Is gellan gum safe to eat?** Yes, it almost has no side effects and the safety has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), as well as the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). **FDA** The FDA claimed the food additive gellan gum may be safely used in food as a stabilizer and thickener. **EFSA** Gellan Gum (E 418) is authorised as a food additive in the European Union (EU) in accordance with Annex II and Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives and categorized as “additives other than colours and sweeteners” (9) **Re-evaluation the safety in 2018** After the study on genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, EFSA concluded that 'there is no need for a numerical acceptable daily intake (ADI) for gellan gum (E418), and that there is no safety concern at the refined exposure assessment for the reported uses and use levels of gellan gum (E418) as a food additive.' --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://www.e418.org/gellan-gum-faq/uses-and-safety.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.