amber
E471
Industrial fatty-acid emulsifier shown to disrupt gut mucus barrier and microbiome in mouse models. Ubiquitous in baked goods and chocolate.
Low Tox Gear · Scanner
Chocolate Celebration Cake
Is Coles Chocolate Celebration Cake low tox? Our scanner flagged 2 ingredients (2 in the caution tier) on its published label, screened against our 237 source-cited chemical rules.
2 caution
2 ingredients flagged
What we flagged
amber
E476
Castor-oil-derived emulsifier ubiquitous in compound chocolate. Same gut-barrier concerns as the other Chassaing-class emulsifiers.
Full ingredients (from label)
Chocolate Sponge [Sugar, Egg Palm Oil**. Rice Flour, Maize Starch, Humectants (422. 420, 1520), Modified Tapioca Starch (1442). Cocoa Powder (3), Inverted Sugar Syrup, Water, Whole Milk Powder (Whole Milk Skimmed Milk Powder, Lactose). Soy Flour, Thickeners (412, 464), Natural Vanilla Flavouring. Preservative (Potassium Sorbate). Emulsifiers (471, 477, 475), lodised Salt, Raising Agents (Sodium Carbonate, 450), Antioxidant (307), Acidity Regulator (570))Choc Ganache (21) [Compound Milk Chocolate (59%)(Sugar, Palm Oil';, Milk Solids (20%), Cocoa Powder (6%), Emulsifiers (322, 476), Natural Flavouring) Cream (Milk), Sunflower Oil, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), lodised Salt). * Contributes to the production of sustainable palm oil. ALLERGY ADVICE CONTAINS SOYEGG AND MILK. MAY CONTAIN TREE NUTS AND SESAME.
How this analysis is generated
Each ingredient on this product's published label is matched against our 237 source-cited chemical rules, each documenting a concern from peer-reviewed research and regulatory sources. Severity tiers:
- Avoid (red) — banned or restricted in the EU, UK or Canada but still legal in the US, IARC-listed, or strong contact-allergen evidence.
- Caution (amber) — regulatory caution, contamination risk, or condition-specific irritant.
- Mild (green) — low concern but commonly avoided in low-tox formulations.
Each flag links to its primary chemical-level source, and each condition pill links to a PubMed-indexed paper that discusses the chemical class in the context of that condition. Every citation is a real peer-reviewed paper — we don't link to Wikipedia or PubMed search pages. Some pairs use a topically-broad paper (e.g. a fragrance-allergen patch-test review) rather than a single-pair study where the literature is thin. The full evidence chain (chemical → mechanism → condition → paper) is one click away.
This is automated analysis of a published label, not medical advice — always verify the label yourself before changing products. Methodology and source list at scan.lowtoxgear.com.