Editing Lecithin (section)

===Food additive===
The nontoxicity of lecithin leads to its use with food, as a [[food additive]] or in food preparation. It is used commercially in foods requiring a natural emulsifier or lubricant.

In confectionery, it reduces viscosity, replaces more expensive ingredients, controls sugar crystallization and the flow properties of [[chocolate]], helps in the homogeneous mixing of ingredients, improves shelf life for some products, and can be used as a coating. In emulsions and [[Spread (food)|fat spread]]s, such as [[margarine]]s with a high [[fat]] content of more than 75%, it stabilizes emulsions, reduces spattering (splashing and scattering of oil droplets) during [[frying]], improves texture of spreads and flavor release.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=INZa6WmqDA8C&pg=PA340 |chapter=Food Uses of Oils and Fats |title=The Lipid Handbook |editor1-first=Frank D. |editor1-last=Gunstone |editor2-first=John L. |editor2-last=Harwood |editor3-first=Albert J. |editor3-last=Dijkstra |publisher=CRC Press |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-8493-9688-5 |page=340 |access-date=2019-08-19 |archive-date=2024-04-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406201020/https://books.google.com/books?id=INZa6WmqDA8C&pg=PA340#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> In [[dough]]s and [[baking]], it reduces fat and egg requirements, helps even out distribution of ingredients in dough, stabilizes [[fermentation (food)|fermentation]], increases volume, protects [[yeast]] cells in dough when frozen, and acts as a releasing agent to prevent sticking and simplify cleaning. It improves wetting properties of [[hydrophilic]] powders (such as low-fat proteins) and [[lipophilic]] powders (such as [[cocoa powder]]), controls dust, and helps complete dispersion in water.<ref name="Riehm">{{cite journal | last1=Riehm | first1=David A. | last2=Rokke | first2=David J. | last3=Paul | first3=Prakash G. | last4=Lee | first4=Han Seung | last5=Vizanko | first5=Brent S. | last6=McCormick | first6=Alon V. | title=Dispersion of oil into water using lecithin-Tween 80 blends: The role of spontaneous emulsification | journal=Journal of Colloid and Interface Science| volume=487 | date=2017-02-01 | issn=0021-9797 | pmid=27744169 | doi=10.1016/j.jcis.2016.10.010 | bibcode=2017JCIS..487...52R | pages=52–59}}</ref> Lecithin keeps [[Cocoa solids|cocoa]] and [[cocoa butter]] in a [[chocolate bar|candy bar]] from separating. It can be used as a component of [[cooking spray]]s to prevent sticking and as a releasing agent.

In the EU Lecithin is designated at [[food additive]] [[E number|E322]].<ref name=FSA5>{{cite web |url=http://www.food.gov.uk/safereating/chemsafe/additivesbranch/enumberlist#h_6 |title=Current EU approved additives and their E Numbers |publisher=UK [[Food Standards Agency]] |access-date=26 November 2010 |archive-date=7 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007124435/http://www.food.gov.uk/safereating/chemsafe/additivesbranch/enumberlist#h_6 |url-status=live }}</ref>