What do the Clean, Low, Watch and Swap levels mean?

They are cut from a continuous concern level the app computes from the sourced claims that the chosen evidence lens shows: each claim counts its concern class, tier weight, confidence and dose relevance, combined worst-first with a decay so one serious finding outweighs many small ones, then scaled by how much of the substance reaches you in this use. Clean is below 0.35, Low below 1.1, Watch below 2.0 and Swap above that, on a 0 to 3 scale.

Is Locust Bean Gum safe in food and drink?

Q: Is locust bean gum safe in food and drink?

Under the app's default Cautious lens, locust bean gum in food and drink rates Swap: the app would put this near the top of your swap plan. 3 sourced concerns count (suspected carcinogen, consensus tier; irritant · allergen, consensus tier; irritant · allergen, emerging tier). This is research with sources, not medical advice.

Food additives1 use researched3 sourced claims

Where it turns up: thickener and stabilizer in foods. Detox My Life researched locust bean gum under one use, because the same substance means something different in each use. Every claim below carries its evidence tier, how sure the research is that it applies here, and the sources it cites. The level is computed by the app's own deterministic engine, so the page says exactly what the app would.

Level by use and lens

Use	Mainstream	Cautious (default)	Based	Concerns · favour · fringe
Eaten or drunk	Swap	Swap	Swap	3 · 0

Mainstream shows consensus claims only; Cautious adds emerging research; Based adds fringe claims, labelled as such. The last column counts, under Cautious, the sourced concerns, the findings in its favour and the fringe claims Based would add.

Safer swaps: the app's swap catalog has no entry tied to this ingredient yet. When you scan a product that contains it, the app suggests cleaner alternative types for that product; the swap categories list what the catalog covers today.

Eaten or drunk Swap

Under the default Cautious lens locust bean gum in food and drink rates Swap: the app would put this near the top of your swap plan. Mainstream (consensus only) rates it Swap; Based (adds the fringe) rates it Swap. Researched 2026-09-03.

Sourced concerns (3)

ConsensusSuspected carcinogenconfidence 90%

Locust bean gum has been subject to withdrawals in certain food products in the EU due to contamination with ethylene oxide, a substance whose prolonged consumption may result in health complications.

Why here: This is a contamination issue that affects the safety of ingested locust bean gum if present in food products.
What would have to be true: Consumption of food products containing locust bean gum contaminated with ethylene oxide above regulatory maximum limits.
The other side: Consumption of foods containing ethylene oxide does not pose an acute risk to health. This is a contamination issue, not an inherent property of locust bean gum itself, and regulatory actions are taken to remove contaminated products.

Sources the engine cites:

FSAI Notifies the Withdrawal of Locust bean gum (E410) in Certain Food Products due to Ethylene Oxide Contamination - Trace One — traceone.com (2021) · regulator or public body

ConsensusIrritant · allergenconfidence 90%

Infants and young children consuming foods for special medical purposes may show a higher susceptibility to gastrointestinal effects of locust bean gum due to their underlying medical condition, and the available data do not allow an adequate assessment of its safety in these foods for infants and young children. JECFA also indicated a potential risk for infants at high concentrations (10,000 mg/L) in infant formula.

Why here: Locust bean gum is used as a thickening agent in infant formulas for babies experiencing reflux.
What would have to be true: Infants and young children consuming foods for special medical purposes, particularly at high concentrations in infant formula (e.g., 10,000 mg/L).
The other side: For the general population, there is no safety concern at the refined exposure assessment for its reported uses as a food additive, and an acceptable daily intake (ADI) 'not specified' has been allocated by JECFA. EFSA's 2023 re-evaluation for infants below 16 weeks of age, based on a piglet study, identified a reference point of 1,400 mg/kg body weight/day, and concluded that a Margin of Exposure (MoE) above 1 would not raise a safety concern for some infant exposure levels and all toddler exposure levels.

Sources the engine cites:

Re-evaluation of locust bean gum (E 410) as a food additive — nih.gov (2017) · regulator or public body
Locust bean gum safety in neonates and young infants: an integrated review of the toxicological database and clinical evidence - PubMed — nih.gov (2014) · regulator or public body
2 web articles (healthline.com, nutraingredients.com), linked in the app.

EmergingIrritant · allergenconfidence 80%

Some individuals may be allergic to locust bean gum, which can manifest as asthma and breathing issues.

Why here: Ingestion of foods containing locust bean gum can trigger allergic responses in sensitive individuals.
What would have to be true: Ingestion by individuals with a sensitivity or allergy to locust bean gum or carob-containing foods.
The other side: Locust bean gum is generally considered non-allergenic. Most reported cases of rhinitis and asthma were essentially caused by occupational contact rather than ingestion.

Sources the engine cites (no regulator, review or study among them):

1 web article (healthline.com), linked in the app.

Not researched here

The engine has no dossier for locust bean gum when cooked with heat, in cold food, as a finishing ingredient, in heated food packaging or other uses. The app researches an ingredient for the use it infers from your product, so a scan fills these in; this page only shows what has already been researched and source-verified.

This is research, not medical advice. Detox My Life shows sourced claims sorted by evidence tier. It does not diagnose, treat, or tell you to start or stop anything. Talk to a qualified professional about your health.

Scan your own. The app reads any product label with your camera, works out how you are about to use it, and researches every ingredient for that use with live sources. Every scan adds to a Detox Score for your home, where 50 is a typical home in your region, and a plan of next swaps.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play