INS 920 is the code for L-Cysteine
A dough conditioner. It slackens gluten so bread, buns and pizza bases can be mixed faster and pressed thinner, and it turns up in most industrially made bread. It is an amino acid the body makes for itself, so the substance is unremarkable; what varies is how it was obtained.
- What it does
- Softens dough A flour treatment agent
- Also printed as
- L-Cysteine hydrochloride
- Vegetarian?
- Depends on the maker Source not stated on the label
- In the Zabel score
- 2 of the 20 additive points Method 1.0.0
- In our catalogue
- 0 packs List it in their ingredients
Is INS 920 vegetarian?
It depends on the maker. INS 920 can be made from plant or animal sources and the label does not say which, so the code tells you nothing either way. The green or brown mark on the pack is the declaration to go by.
Too few packs in our catalogue list INS 920 for a breakdown by food to mean anything yet. We print one once at least 20 categorised packs carry it.
What does the evidence say about INS 920?
We grade an additive by the evidence about it, not by whether it sounds like a chemical, and we make no claim about whether a pack complies with FSSAI rules.
No safety concern at the levels used and JECFA has not restricted it. It is here for its origin, which the label never states. Commercial L-cysteine is hydrolysed from keratin - duck and chicken feathers, and historically human hair - or made by bacterial fermentation, and the two are chemically identical, so nothing on the pack and nothing in a laboratory test tells a shopper which one they have. That is the honest answer, and it is why this reads as unresolved rather than as vegetarian.
Does Zabel mark INS 920 down?
Yes, by 2 points. The additives part of the score starts at 20, and each code takes off a fixed amount set by the strength of the evidence about it, not by the fact that it is an additive (method 1.0.0). Read the method.
Questions people search
What is INS 920?
INS 920 is the code for L-Cysteine, a flour treatment agent. A dough conditioner. It slackens gluten so bread, buns and pizza bases can be mixed faster and pressed thinner, and it turns up in most industrially made bread. It is an amino acid the body makes for itself, so the substance is unremarkable; what varies is how it was obtained.
Is INS 920 vegetarian?
It depends on the maker. INS 920 can be made from plant or animal sources and the label does not say which, so the code tells you nothing either way. The green or brown mark on the pack is the declaration to go by.
What does the evidence say about INS 920?
No safety concern at the levels used and JECFA has not restricted it. It is here for its origin, which the label never states. Commercial L-cysteine is hydrolysed from keratin - duck and chicken feathers, and historically human hair - or made by bacterial fermentation, and the two are chemically identical, so nothing on the pack and nothing in a laboratory test tells a shopper which one they have. That is the honest answer, and it is why this reads as unresolved rather than as vegetarian.
Does Zabel mark INS 920 down?
Yes, by 2 points. The additives part of the score starts at 20, and each code takes off a fixed amount set by the strength of the evidence about it, not by the fact that it is an additive (method 1.0.0).
What other names is INS 920 printed under?
Packs also print it as L-Cysteine hydrochloride, or as the bare number 920 in brackets after the ingredient.
Sources
- 01 General Standard for Food Additives (CXS 192-1995) Codex Alimentarius, 2023
- 02 Evaluations of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) WHO / FAO, 2024
- 03 Zabel catalogue - pack counts, food categories and the codes printed alongside 4 Nov 2026
Entry updated 19 Sep 2026 · Not reviewed by a dietitian yet · Report an error on this page
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