# Aluminium — Food color additive cross-reference: US FD&C designation vs EU E-number, with regulatory status comparison

For Aluminium, eu e-number is E 173; eu food use status is only external coating of sugar confectionery for the decoration of cakes and pastries, verified against its source on 2026-08-10.

- **Color additive name:** Aluminium _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **EU E-number:** E 173 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **EU food use status:** only external coating of sugar confectionery for the decoration of cakes and pastries _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> E 173 | Aluminium | quantum satis | | only external coating of sugar confectionery for the decoration of cakes and pastries |

## Source

- https://web.archive.org/web/2025/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02008R1333-20241216

Last verified: 2026-08-10. Review by: 2027-08-10.
Part of [Food color additive cross-reference: US FD&C designation vs EU E-number, with regulatory status comparison](https://referencesource.org/food-color-additive-status-us-vs-eu/).