Is polysorbate 80 gluten free?
Polysorbate 80 is a food additive described in the Food and Drug Administration’s Code of Federal Regulations as an ingredient manufactured when oleic acid reacts with sorbitol. It is used as an emulsifier in ice cream and other frozen desserts to help them have a firmer texture and retain shape as they be - gin to melt, and as an inactive ingredient in prescription drugs. Sorbitol is a slow- metabolizing sugar alcohol that most often comes from corn, fruit or seaweed. Oleic acid is a colorless oily liquid that is the major fatty acid in olive oil and canola oil. So polysorbate 80 is gluten free.
This is no longer true as I discovered the hard way. Drug companies now outsource their manufacturing all over the world and the same drug could be manufactured in multiple plants with different ingredients, all sharing the same retail company label. You should have your pharmacist check with the drug manufacturer that your prescription and that particular lot or batch number is GF or have it compounded locally to be safe