What Is Guar Gum?
Guar gum is a thickener and stabilizer. The FDA's regulation, 21 CFR 184.1339, in the part covering direct food substances affirmed as generally recognized as safe, defines it as the natural substance obtained from the maceration of the seed of the guar plant, Cyamopsis tetragonoloba or Cyamopsis psoraloides.
The regulation sets maximum usage levels that vary by food. They include 0.35 percent in baked goods and baking mixes, 1.2 percent in breakfast cereals, and 0.5 percent in all food categories the table does not list separately, with functions that include emulsifier, firming agent, formulation aid, stabilizer and thickener.
Guar gum was also once sold in weight-loss drugs. In a March 6, 1991 Federal Register notice, the FDA recounted that it had stated data indicate a safety hazard of esophageal obstruction from weight control drug products containing guar gum, and it made clear that adding its proposed warning statement to labels was not a sufficient basis to permit continued marketing of over-the-counter weight control drugs containing it.
Sources checked September 15, 2026. Every point below links the page it came from.
The sources behind this answer
- Regulatory filingUnder 21 CFR 184.1339, guar gum is the natural substance obtained from the maceration of the seed of the guar plant, Cyamopsis tetragonoloba or Cyamopsis psoraloides. US FDA, 21 CFR 184.1339 (eCFR) ↗
- Regulatory filingUnder 21 CFR 184.1339, guar gum may be used in baked goods and baking mixes at up to 0.35 percent, and in breakfast cereals at up to 1.2 percent. US FDA, 21 CFR 184.1339 (eCFR) ↗
- Regulatory filingUnder 21 CFR 184.1339, food categories not listed separately have a maximum guar gum usage level of 0.5 percent. US FDA, 21 CFR 184.1339 (eCFR) ↗
- Regulatory filingIn a March 1991 Federal Register notice, the FDA recounted that it had stated data indicate a safety hazard of esophageal obstruction from weight control drug products containing guar gum. US FDA, Federal Register (56 FR 9312), via Library of Congress ↗
- Regulatory filingThe FDA said in 1991 that adding its proposed warning to labeling is not a sufficient basis to permit continued marketing of OTC weight control drug products containing guar gum. US FDA, Federal Register (56 FR 9312), via Library of Congress ↗
Sources checked September 15, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.