Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), E476, is an emulsifier made from glycerol and fatty acids (usually from castor bean, but also from soybean oil).

It is used at low levels (below 0.5%),[3][4] and works by decreasing the friction between the solid particles (e.g. cacao, sugar, milk) in molten chocolate, reducing the yield stress so that it flows more easily, approaching the behaviour of a Newtonian fluid.

PGPR is a yellowish, viscous liquid, and is strongly lipophilic: it is soluble in fats and oils and insoluble in water and ethanol.

In 2017, a panel from the European Food Safety Authority recommended an increased acceptable daily intake of 25 milligrams per kilogram of body weight based on a new chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity study.

[3] In a 1998 review funded by Unilever of safety evaluations from the late 1950s and early 1960s, "PGPR was found to be 98% digested by rats and utilized as a source of energy superior to starch and nearly equivalent to peanut oil.