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Tartaric Acid (E334): Sources, Uses & Safety

Tartaric acid is a naturally occurring organic acid found mainly in grapes and wine. It is widely used as a food additive (E334) and plays an important role in pharmaceuticals.

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Things worth knowing about "Tartaric Acid"

Tartaric acid is a naturally occurring organic acid found mainly in grapes and wine. It is widely used as a food additive (E334) and plays an important role in pharmaceuticals.

What Is Tartaric Acid?

Tartaric acid (chemical name: 2,3-dihydroxybutanedioic acid) is a naturally occurring organic dicarboxylic acid belonging to the group of hydroxy carboxylic acids. It is found in abundance in grapes, tamarind, bananas, and various other fruits. In the food industry, it is approved as a food additive under the code E334. Its best-known salt is potassium hydrogen tartrate, commonly called cream of tartar, which forms naturally as a crystalline deposit in wine barrels and bottles.

Natural Sources

Tartaric acid occurs naturally in a variety of plant-based foods. The highest concentrations are found in:

Grapes and wine (highest natural concentration)
Tamarind fruit
Bananas
Citrus fruits
Apples and apricots

Industrially, tartaric acid is primarily obtained as a by-product of winemaking by processing cream of tartar (potassium hydrogen tartrate) collected from the deposits in wine barrels.

Use in the Food Industry

As the food additive E334, tartaric acid serves several important functions:

Acidulant: It provides a pleasant sour taste in beverages, candies, and confectionery products.
Antioxidant: It helps prevent oxidation in food products, thereby extending shelf life.
Stabilizer: It helps maintain the color and texture of food products, especially fruit preparations and jellies.
Leavening agent: In combination with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), it produces carbon dioxide bubbles that help doughs and batters rise.

Use in Pharmaceuticals and Medicine

In the pharmaceutical field, tartaric acid plays a significant role both as an excipient and as a formulation component:

Effervescent tablets: Combined with sodium bicarbonate, it is a key ingredient in effervescent tablets and powders.
Buffering agent: It is used as a pH-regulating excipient in various medications.
Tartrate salts: Several active pharmaceutical ingredients are formulated as tartrate salts to improve their solubility and stability (e.g., metoprolol tartrate, zolpidem tartrate).
Diagnostics: Potassium sodium tartrate (Seignette salt) was historically used in the Fehling test to detect glucose in urine.

Metabolism and Physiological Role

Tartaric acid is only minimally metabolized in the human body. The majority of ingested tartaric acid is excreted unchanged via the kidneys. It provides little usable energy and is considered well tolerated and safe at normal dietary intake levels.

Safety and Potential Side Effects

Tartaric acid is considered safe at the levels typically found in food and pharmaceutical products. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has not set a specific acceptable daily intake (ADI) for tartaric acid (E334), as it poses no risk at normal usage levels. However, excessively high intake may cause:

Stomach irritation and nausea
Diarrhea
Dental enamel erosion from excessive consumption of acidic foods

Individuals with kidney conditions should exercise caution with very high consumption of tartaric acid-rich foods, as the acid is primarily eliminated through the kidneys.

Tartaric Acid and Wine

In wine, tartaric acid is the predominant acid and is largely responsible for the taste and stability of the beverage. It is chemically more stable than other wine acids such as malic acid or lactic acid and is barely broken down by microbial activity. Cream of tartar (potassium hydrogen tartrate), which forms as a crystalline sediment in wine bottles and barrels, is the most familiar by-product of tartaric acid in wine production.

References

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA): Re-evaluation of tartaric acid (E 334), sodium tartrates (E 335), potassium tartrate (E 336), sodium potassium tartrate (E 337) and calcium tartrate (E 354) as food additives. EFSA Journal, 2020.
Belitz, H.-D.; Grosch, W.; Schieberle, P.: Food Chemistry. 4th revised and extended edition. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, 2009.
Fennema, O.R. (ed.): Food Chemistry. 3rd Edition, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1996.

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