Sorbitan Monostearate

A processor wants to use a baker’s yeast that lists sorbitan monostearate as a component of the yeast. Is sorbitan monostearate synthetic, and is it allowed?

By Lindsay Fernandez-Salvador

Sorbitan monostearate is a synthetic ester that is commonly used in the manufacture of food and health care products as a surfactant with emulsifying, dispersing, and wetting properties. It is used in yeast manufacturing to protect the yeast from excess drying and also helps rehydrate the yeast cells. Most of the baker’s yeast on the market contains sorbitan monostearate. Sorbitan monostearate does not appear under §205.605(b) of the National List as an allowed synthetic substance for use an ingredient or processing aid in processed products labeled as “organic” or “made with organic ingredients.” However, many Accredited Certifying Agencies (ACAs) do not prohibit sorbitan monostearate when formulated with yeast. Rather, some ACAs consider it as an incidental component of an allowed ingredient, yeast, which is listed at §205.605(a). Other ACAs believe that since baker’s yeast can be produced without sorbitan monostearate, yeast containing this synthetic substance would not be allowed in organic processed products. Producers should check with their ACA for prior approval before using yeast with sorbitan monostearate.

Revised and updated in February 2017 by OMRI Technical Director Johanna Mirenda. This article was originally published in the Winter 2010 edition of the OMRI Materials Review newsletter.