Sorbitol Powder Manufacturer and Supplier, E420 Sweetener and Humectant, Food Cosmetic and Pharma Grade for Toothpaste, Candy, Cosmetics and Pharmaceutical

1.Product Overview

Sorbitol Powder (D-Glucitol, CAS 50-70-4) is a white crystalline polyol — a sugar alcohol — made by hydrogenating glucose obtained from refined starch, then purifying, crystallising, drying and sieving the hydrogenated liquor. It is the substance listed in China's food-additive standard GB 1886.187, in the EU food-additive specification E 420 (i) and in the FCC, with additive numbers INS 420 / E 420 (i). It is affirmed as GRAS by the U.S. FDA and is approved for food use in the European Union and in other markets including Canada, Australia and Japan — which is why a single specification sheet can usually travel with shipments to several regions at once.

What it is, in one line: roughly 50–70% as sweet as sucrose with about one third fewer calories, very soluble in water, non-reducing, non-cariogenic, and chemically inert enough to hold its colour, flavour and body through heat, acid and freeze–thaw.

What it does in a formulation. Sorbitol is not a single-purpose ingredient — it works as four things at once:

Three supply grades, one release specification. We hold the same crystal in Food Grade, Cosmetic & Daily-Chemical Grade and Pharmaceutical Grade. All three are crystallised on the same production line and released against one and the same release specification (section 2.3). What differs between the grades is the document framework the batch is written against, the particle cut chosen for your process, and the document pack that ships with the container — which is exactly the part a purchasing team, a QA department and a customs broker each need to see in writing.

2. Technical Specification

2.1 Product identity

Sorbitol is produced by catalytic hydrogenation of dextrose / glucose syrup obtained from starch. Depending on the glucose grade used, the balance of the product that is not D-sorbitol consists of related glycitols such as mannitol and iditol — the specification in section 2.3 is written to hold that balance steady from lot to lot.

2.2 Physical & chemical constants

These are the properties that decide whether a reformulation or a substitution will behave the way your current recipe expects. They are quoted from our product property file, and they are the figures worth putting in front of your R&D team before you place a trial order.

Three of these lines carry more weight than the rest. Osmotic pressure ≈ 1.88 × sucrose tells a beverage or syrup formulator how the mouthfeel and water activity will shift when sucrose is replaced. No decomposition at 200 °C is the reason it survives baking and high-temperature processing. Less hygroscopic than glycerin is why it can replace glycerin as a humectant in a paste or cream without the product turning tacky in the pack.

2.3 Release specification — the one panel all three grades are released against

Two groups of lines do most of the work for a technical buyer, because neither can be corrected after crystallisation: specific rotation + 4.0° to + 7.0° with TLC identification A, B, C confirms the material is genuine D-glucitol and not a re-blended polyol mixture; and ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol specified as absolute absence, with melting range ≥ 95 °C, answers the two incoming-goods complaints that come up most often with powdered polyols.

The three grades, mapped to this panel:

2.4 Approval status and specification frameworks by market

Specification frameworks side by side:

Read that against section 2.3: our release limits sit well inside the mandatory national minimum — assay ≥ 98.0% against a ≥ 91.0% requirement, reducing sugar ≤ 0.20% against ≤ 0.3%, total sugar ≤ 1.0% against ≤ 4.4% — and released lots also satisfy the FCC and EU E 420 (i) profiles. In practice one specification sheet and one document set will cover most destination markets, which is the point of buying a multi-market grade rather than a market-specific one. For the Pharmaceutical Grade, the same crystal is documented against the pharmacopoeia you name — USP, BP or EP — and the monograph test set is confirmed with you in writing before order.

2.5 Particle size — the cuts you can write into your purchase order

Sieve openings used for the conversion below:

Cuts held as standard: 20–60 mesh · 50 mesh · 60–80 mesh · 60–120 mesh. Produced to order: 20–40 mesh · 40–60 mesh · 80–120 mesh · 40–100 mesh · 10–20 mesh.

Particle-size release limits, expressed as passing percentage:

Reference sieve profile on the 20–60 mesh cut, expressed as cumulative oversize:

Which cut to specify:

• Dry blending, premixes, dosing, pharmaceutical handling → 20–60 mesh.Coarse, free-flowing, low-dust, resists segregation in a premix.
• Confectionery, bakery and beverage batches → 20–60 or 60–80 mesh.Take the coarse cut where the powder is dosed dry; take the finer cut where faster wetting shortens batch time.
• Toothpaste, mouthwash, creams and lotions → 60–80 or 60–120 mesh.The finer cuts wet fastest and disperse most uniformly into a paste, cream or gel.

2.6 Bulk density

Measured on sorbitol powder fractions (static = poured, dynamic = tapped):

Practical working range: about 0.60 – 0.64 g/mL poured and 0.73 – 0.77 g/mL tapped. Use these figures for bag volumes, silo and mixer fill factors, and container payload planning.

Do not confuse bulk density with the solid relative density in section 2.2 (≈ 1.47 – 1.49). They are different properties used for different calculations.

3. Typical Certificate of Analysis

Why this section is laid out as a comparison. A buyer qualifying a second source is not really asking "what did one batch test at?" — they are asking "does the quality move around between batches?". So instead of publishing three separate certificates, the three reference batches are placed side by side on the same parameters, and the specification is shown once at the top of each column. The batch-specific Certificate of Analysis still travels with every shipment, and that COA is the governing document.

Reference batches A, B and C — parameters side by side

How to read the columns. Work down each parameter rather than across the rows:

• Assay landed at99.5%, 99.5% and 99.10% against a ≥ 98.0% release limit — a band roughly 1.1 to 1.5 points wide, on a product whose mandatory national minimum is only 91.0%.
• Moisture came in at 0.5% and 0.32% against a ≤ 1.0% limit.
• Sugars— reducing sugar 0.05% / 0.09% / 0.10%, total sugar 0.15% / 0.20% / 0.2%— every lot far inside the ≤ 0.20% / ≤ 1.0% window. This is the pair of figures a confectionery or beverage formulator checks first, because residual sugar drives colour drift and hygroscopicity in the finished product.
• Metals on batch C — nickel 0.01 ppm, lead 0.001 ppm— landed about two orders of magnitude inside their limits; batch C is also the batch carrying the full identity, melting range and glycol-absence set.
• Microbiology ran at 63 pcs/g total plate count and 10 pcs/g moulds and yeasts on batch B, against ≤ 1000 and ≤ 100 limits.

Read the table as evidence of margin and lot-to-lot consistency — not as a promise that a future lot will reproduce these exact numbers. The COA in your shipping pack governs.

4. Applications — what to order for each end product

Usage levels above are given on the dry product and are direction only — confirm the final figure against your own recipe, your process and your local rules.

The crystal is the same in every row of that table. What actually changes is the document framework and the particle cut — which is why telling us the end product and the destination market at enquiry stage usually settles the grade and the cut in one step.

5. Quality Control

Three control gates. Quality is held at three points rather than inspected at the end: the incoming starch and glucose liquor, the hydrogenation step, and final release before packing. Because the sugar liquor is purified by ion exchange and decolourising before crystallisation, colour and residual sugar are controlled upstream of the sieve rather than corrected afterwards — which is also why one release panel can serve the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical grades.

Production route. Corn starch slurry → liquefaction → cooling and pH adjustment → protein pre-treatment → saccharification → ion exchange → slurry allotment → decolourising → concentration → separation → decolourising → drying → cooling and crystallisation → sieving / separation → packed product.

Methods used on every released batch.

Microbiological limits held on file.

Traceability and retention. No batch is packed for delivery until it has been released against the specification in section 2.3 and issued with its own Certificate of Analysis. Retained samples and full batch records are kept, so a lot delivered to you can be re-tested against the agreed specification on request — useful when your own incoming-goods laboratory wants to cross-check a shipment.

Documents and certificates available.

Tell us at the ordering stage which grade you are buying and what your customs broker or QA department needs — the pack is built to match.

6. Packaging & Shipping

Handling the hygroscopic point in transit. Because the powder takes up moisture, the inner liner is closed before the outer bag is stitched, and pallets are kept clear of the container walls so air can move. If your port of discharge is in a high-humidity region, say so at enquiry stage and we will confirm the packing and loading arrangement for that lane.

7. Storage & Handling

Storage.

• Keep in a cool, dry, ventilated area, away from heat, ignition sources, strong oxidising agents, strong odours and direct sunlight. Keep containers tightly closed.
• The powder is hygroscopic: re-seal partly used bags promptly, and keep them out of humid areas and away from liquid lines and open water.
• Powdered crystalline sorbitol may set firm after prolonged storage; performance is unaffected — break it up and use it as normal.
• Operate first in, first out; keep bags on pallets, clear of floor and walls, so air circulates.

Shelf life:

• 24 months in the unopened original bag under the storage conditions above (confirm the wording against the documents travelling with your shipment — see 附三).

Handling. Normal dust-control practice at filling and weighing points. For bulk handling use splash goggles, gloves, a lab coat and an approved dust respirator.

Safety profile (per the MSDS).

First aid at a glance.

Transport status. Not a dangerous good: not a DOT-controlled material (U.S.), not regulated under the IMDG Code, not controlled under WHMIS (Canada). Standard containerised sea freight applies and the documentation stays straightforward. The MSDS supplied with the shipment governs all transport and handling decisions.

8. Buyer FAQ

Q1. We are qualifying a second source. What should we ask for first? A. Ask for the batch COA alongside the specification sheet, then compare the parameters you actually control on incoming goods — assay, moisture, reducing sugar, total sugar, specific rotation and the microbiological counts. Section 3 puts three reference batches side by side on exactly those parameters so you can see the working band before you request samples.

Q2. Will it behave the same as what we are running today? A. The constants in section 2.2 are the ones that decide that: sweetness at 50–70% of sucrose, solubility ≈ 1 g / 0.45 mL, osmotic pressure ≈ 1.88 × sucrose, no decomposition at 200 °C, hygroscopicity below glycerin, and non-reducing behaviour. Send the application and the current specification, and we will confirm the grade, the cut and the document pack in writing before you commit to a trial quantity.

Q3. Which grade do we need? A. Choose by where the product goes: Food Grade for anything eaten or drunk, Cosmetic & Daily-Chemical Grade for oral care and personal care, Pharmaceutical Grade where your quality file cites a pharmacopoeia. All three are released against the same panel (section 2.3); what differs is the framework the batch is written against, the cut and the documents.

Q4. Can you supply against the USP, BP or EP monograph? A. Yes. The Pharmaceutical Grade is produced and documented against a pharmacopoeia-orientated specification. Name the monograph your market requires at enquiry stage and we will confirm the matching grade, the test panel and the document pack in writing before order.

Q5. Is sorbitol permitted in our market? A. It is a permitted food additive under China's GB 1886.187, the EU's E 420 (i) and the FCC, it is affirmed as GRAS by the U.S. FDA, and it is approved for food use in other markets including Canada, Australia and Japan. Confirm the local labelling and import requirements with your own regulatory advisor; we supply the specification and the certificates.

Q6. What is the purity and how much does it vary? A. The release limit is assay ≥ 98.0%; the three published reference batches tested at 99.50%, 99.50% and 99.10%. Identity is confirmed by identification A, B, C, TLC and specific rotation.

Q7. How do we know it is genuine D-glucitol and not a blend? A. Three specification lines answer that: specific rotation + 4.0° to + 7.0°, TLC identification A, B, C, and ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol specified as absolute absence with melting range ≥ 95 °C. All were confirmed on the reference batches.

Q8. Does it dust or cake? A. The powder is hygroscopic, so keep bags sealed and re-seal after partial use. A coarse cut compacts less than a fine one, and a fine cut carries a smaller airborne-dust load than a flour-grade material. Prolonged storage may set the powder firm, which does not affect performance.

Q9. Can we mix grades and cuts in one container? A. Yes. All grades are packed on the same line to the same 25 kg format, so a mixed programme travels under one packing standard. Tell us the splits, the destination port and the required cuts and we will confirm the loading plan.

Q10. Can the bags carry our brand? A. Yes — private-label printing is available to order. Standard export packing is a 25 kg white PP woven outer bag with a food-grade PE inner liner, unprinted.

Q11. What documents arrive with the goods? A. Standard: the batch Certificate of Analysis, the product specification sheet and the MSDS. Available at plant level: ISO 9001, ISO 22000, HALAL, KOSHER and the manufacturing licence. For the Pharmaceutical Grade, tell us the monograph your market cites so the pack can be matched to it.

Q12. Is it a dangerous good for shipping? A. No. It is not DOT-controlled, not regulated under the IMDG Code and not WHMIS-controlled; standard containerised sea freight applies.

Q13. Can we re-test a delivered lot? A. Yes. Retained samples and full batch records are kept, and a delivered lot can be re-tested against the agreed specification on request — useful when your own laboratory wants to cross-check an incoming shipment.

Q14. What are the MOQ, lead time, price and payment terms? A. Send the grade, the cut, the quantity, the destination port and the packing preference, and we will confirm MOQ, lead time, price and payment terms for that specific shipment.

• Factory-direct supply with stable quality and batch-to-batch consistency
• Full documentation package: Specification, COA, MSDS
• Flexible viscosity grades and packing options tailored to your mortar formulation
• Experienced export service with fast response

Qingdao Golden Grain Chemical Co., Ltd, invested by Golden Grain Group Limited, one professional manufacturer and exporter since 2000, is devoted to supplying products and solutions to food & beverage, medicine, animal feed & nutrition, personal care & household, construction, agriculture.
Golden Grain Group Limited have professional staff, advanced production lines and complete lab equipment, pass GMP, HACCP, ISO, HALAL, KOSHER, BRC, GMP-Free, and other necessary certificates, which ensure our quality to be international standard. For many years' experience, we are exporting our products to more than 60 countries in the world.
"Quality Products", "Efficient Service", Golden Grain Group Limited hope to enter good business cooperation with customers at home and abroad for long.