Additives
Biphenyl (E230): What It Is and Is It Safe?
Limited risk
Preservative / Surface Treatment
Antifungal compound applied as a surface treatment to citrus fruit skins to prevent mould during long-distance transport and storage. Not ingested when fruit is peeled normally. Biphenyl can migrate into the peel, so anyone using citrus zest in cooking should wash treated fruit very thoroughly. Must be declared on the label of treated fruit.
- Category
- Preservative / Surface Treatment
- Typically used in
- Surface treatment of citrus fruit skins (oranges, lemons, grapefruits)
- Regulatory status
- Approved EU/USA/UK for surface treatment of citrus only. Must be declared on packaging.
- Also listed as
- Diphenyl
- Concerns flagged
-
Carcinogenicity concernLiver effectsNeurotoxicity concern
Scrannr flags Biphenyl automatically when you scan a barcode.
Sources
Where this comes from
- EFSA (2014) — Scientific Opinion on the safety assessment of biphenyl -E 230- as a food additive https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2014.3567
Products
Products containing Biphenyl
We're building product pages that show real UK products containing Biphenyl, using Open Food Facts data. They'll appear here soon — in the meantime, scan any barcode with the Scrannr app to check for it instantly.
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