Sorbitol (E420)
Sweeteners · Sugar Alcohols
No. As an added sweetener, sorbitol is rated red at one teaspoon, which carries 2.5 g of the polyol itself, five times the 0.5 g point at which a portion is counted as high. The confusing part is that sorbitol is also the name of a FODMAP group, so it reaches you twice: as E420 on an ingredient list, and as a sugar that stone fruit make on their own.
Last updated 4 September 2026Serving sizes for sorbitol (e420)
One teaspoon is the tested amount for sorbitol as an added sweetener, and it is rated red.
Tested serving sizes
| Serving | Amount | Main FODMAP | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 1 tsp | Sorbitol 2.5 g |
Breakdown for 1 teaspoon
Is sorbitol (e420) low FODMAP?
Two things share this name. Sorbitol the ingredient is manufactured from glucose and stirred into sugar-free products; sorbitol the FODMAP group is the column that counts it, whether it arrived from a factory or from a tree. The chemistry is identical, so the guide scores both the same way. What differs is concentration. A teaspoon of the pure sweetener delivers 2.5 g, while one small pear reaches 0.6 g and three prunes 0.66 g, and both of those serves are already red. Spoon for spoon, the additive carries several times what the fruit does.
Sorbitol (E420) and IBS: what to know
Sorbitol has a habit of arriving from more than one direction on the same day. A stone-fruit dessert after a lunch that included sugar-free mints is two doses, not one, and your gut adds them together even though the fruit bowl and the label look unrelated. Anything advertising no added sugar is the usual carrier: sugar-free gum, mints, cough lozenges, diabetic confectionery, and toothpaste, where sorbitol is the sweet-tasting base. Drying concentrates it too, which is why a small handful of prunes behaves nothing like a fresh plum.
Gut-friendly ways to eat sorbitol (e420)
Sweetening at home is the easy half. Erythritol is rated green at 2 tablespoons and measures much like granulated sugar, and pure stevia is green at a packet when you need sweetness without bulk. Plain white sugar, maple syrup and rice malt syrup are rated green as well. Shopping is the harder half: look past the front of the pack for E420 or sorbitol syrup, and treat the words sugar-free on a sweet, a gum or a jam as a prompt to turn the packet over.
Frequently asked questions
Is sorbitol the same thing as sugar alcohol?
Sorbitol is one of them, not all of them. Sugar alcohol is the family name for a group that also takes in maltitol, xylitol, mannitol, isomalt and erythritol, and they do not behave alike: erythritol is rated green at 2 tablespoons while maltitol is rated red at a teaspoon. Sorbitol is the one the low FODMAP system tracks as a group of its own, alongside mannitol.
Which foods are highest in sorbitol?
Stone fruit and pome fruit lead: one small pear holds 0.6 g of sorbitol and a medium apple 0.5 g, and both of those portions are rated red. Drying pushes it up further. Away from the fruit aisle, the place to look is anything labelled sugar-free, because sorbitol is a standard bulk sweetener in gum, mints and confectionery.
How much sorbitol is too much with IBS?
A portion tips into moderate above 0.2 g of the polyol and counts as high above 0.5 g. Those lines are low enough to be crossed by ordinary fruit: one medium plum sits at 0.26 g. A spoonful of the pure additive clears both of them many times over. Individual tolerance still varies, and structured reintroduction is how you find your own limit.
What does E420 mean on a food label?
E420 is sorbitol, and E420(ii) is sorbitol syrup, the same polyol in liquid form. It shows up in sugar-free sweets and gum, low-sugar jams, some breads and soft-baked biscuits, where it keeps the crumb moist as well as sweet. The code is worth memorising, because on a pack that shouts sugar-free it is often the only place the polyol is named at all.
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