E-number vegan checker · E-Nummer Vegan-Checker
One-screen PWA for the supermarket. Type digits. See if it is vegan.
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e2v tells you whether an E-number (EU food additive code such as E120, E322, E471) is vegan, not vegan, or unclear — offline, on the home screen, with no system keyboard.
Search terms this project covers: E-number vegan, E-Nummer vegan, food additive vegan check, Zusatzstoffe vegan, cochineal E120, lecithin E322, mono- and diglycerides E471, Ponceau 4R / Cochenillerot A E124.
Live app (after GitHub Pages is enabled): https://atmogd.github.io/e2v/
Ingredient lists in the EU print codes like E120 and E471. The name is often missing. Looking that up on a phone in the aisle is slow, and most blogs are wrong on the famous traps:
| Code | People think | Reality in e2v |
|---|---|---|
| E120 | red colour | Not vegan. Cochineal / carmine from insects. |
| E124 | “Cochenillerot” = insect | Vegan. Synthetic azo dye (Ponceau 4R). Not E120. |
| E270 | “lactic” = milk | Vegan. Industrial lactic acid is fermented sugar. |
| E322 | always soy | Unclear. Soy/sunflower or egg. E322a (oat) is vegan. |
| E471 | plant fat | Unclear. Fat can be plant or animal. The code does not say. |
e2v is built for that moment: one screen, a number pad, a live-filtered list.
- Open the PWA (browser or home-screen icon).
- Type only the digits. Never type
E. Max 4 digits. - The list filters after every tap (
1→ everything starting with 1;12→ E120, E124, E1200…). - Tap a row for the official-style name and one reason sentence.
- C clears all. ⌫ deletes one digit.
Empty pad = empty list. No 300-row dump.
Works offline after the first visit (service worker + hashed data).
One manifest.webmanifest. No App Store.
- Open the site in Safari (not Chrome on iOS).
- Share → Add to Home Screen.
- Open the icon. It runs fullscreen, including offline.
Home-screen web apps work again in the EU after Apple restored them (DMA).
- Open the site in Chrome.
- Banner Install, or menu → Install app / Add to Home screen.
- Chrome can offer a one-tap install via
beforeinstallprompt.
Three states. Colour is not enough (WCAG).
| Icon | Status | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Circle + check | vegan |
Plant, mineral, microbial, or synthetic in normal EU food use. Two independent sources, no conflict. |
| Circle + slash | not_vegan |
Always animal in the authorised spec (or a well-known ghost code like gelatine). |
| Diamond + bar | maybe |
Plant or animal, or sources disagree. Prefer unsure over a false green. |
Always not vegan (high confidence): E120, E901 beeswax, E904 shellac, E966 lactitol, E1105 lysozyme (hen egg in the EU spec), plus ghost lookups E428/E441 gelatine, E542 bone phosphate, E909 spermaceti, E913 lanolin, E1000 cholic acid.
Often maybe: E101, E160a, E322 (not E322a), E304, E422, E431–436, E442, E445, E470a/b, E471–477, E479b, E481–483, E491–495, E570, E626–635, E640, E920, E1517/E1518, E476 (sources conflict).
This is shopping guidance, not a guarantee and not allergy advice. Origin can change by manufacturer and batch.
About 589 codes: EU Annex II Part B inventory (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, plus E960b from 2025/652 and E246 glycolipids), withdrawn former E-numbers, official feed-register E-numbers (Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003), and widely typed ghost/INS codes.
- Built by
scripts/inventory.txt+scripts/overlay.mjs→src/data/additives.json - Rebuild:
npm run build:data - Policy tests:
npm test(E120 never vegan, E124 never not-vegan, gelatine never vegan)
Names and vegan calls are not copied from blog posts. Official names come from EUR-Lex reuse rules. Open Food Facts is used only as a name/alias cross-check (ODbL); OFF vegan: tags are not treated as truth. Full list: docs/sources.md.
npm install
npm test
npm run devOpen http://127.0.0.1:5173/e2v/ (Vite base is /e2v/ for GitHub Pages).
npm run build
npm run previewProduction preview: http://127.0.0.1:4173/e2v/
Push to main. .github/workflows/deploy.yml runs tests, builds, and deploys.
- Repo Settings → Pages → Source: GitHub Actions
- After the first green workflow:
https://<user>.github.io/e2v/
If you use a custom domain or a user/org site, change base in vite.config.ts from /e2v/ to /.
Vite + TypeScript + Preact. One screen, no router, no backend, no analytics. Target: HTML+CSS+JS under 50 KB gzip (data is bundled and hashed). PWA via vite-plugin-pwa (generateSW, autoUpdate).
- Not a barcode / OCR scanner
- Not a multi-code shopping list
- Not an official Vegan Society mark
- Not in the App Store
- Not medical or allergy advice
e2v ist ein Ein-Screen-Checker für E-Nummern (EU-Zusatzstoffe). Du tippst nur Ziffern, siehst sofort ob der Stoff vegan, nicht vegan oder unsicher ist, und kannst die App auf den Home-Bildschirm legen — auch offline im Supermarkt.
- E120 Echtes Karmin — Insekt, nicht vegan
- E124 Cochenillerot A — synthetischer Azofarbstoff, vegan (nicht das Insekt)
- E270 Milchsäure — Gärung, nicht Milch
- E322 Lecithin — Ei möglich; E322a Haferlecithin ist vegan
- E471 Mono- und Diglyceride — Fettquelle unbekannt
- iPhone: Safari → Teilen → Zum Home-Bildschirm
- Android: Chrome → Installieren / Zum Startbildschirm
Drei Status: Haken = vegan, Schrägstrich = nicht vegan, Raute = unsicher. Lieber unsicher als falsch grün.
MIT © Dennis Hawran
Data sources and reuse notes: docs/sources.md.