1,3-Butylene glycol

CAS 107-88-0

Listed as a solvent by Canada and the US.

Listed as solvents and vehicles (CA, US) · flavouring agents and adjuvants (US) · carriers (CA) · formulation aids (US) · processing aids (US)
Chemical structure of 1,3-Butylene glycol, from PubChem compound 7896
Structure from PubChem CID 7896 (National Library of Medicine, public domain). A depiction of one compound: where a listing covers a family, or a substance has no single structure, this page shows none.

1,3-Butylene glycol is a solvent and carrier for flavourings, used to hold flavour compounds in solution.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of 1,3-Butylene glycol by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New ZealandNo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
CanadaHealth CanadaPermitted

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

2 permitted uses

Show every permitted use
  • In: (Naming the flavour) flavour. Purpose: Carrier solvent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Solvents (List 15), item B.3(a)
  • In: Unstandardized flavouring preparations. Purpose: Carrier solvent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Solvents (List 15), item B.3(b)
Health Canada, List of Permitted Solvents (List 15)and 1 further provisionretrieved 2026-10-17
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSANo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
Great BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards ScotlandNo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
JapanConsumer Affairs AgencyNo listing matchedThis site imports only Japan’s list of designated additives (Appended Table 1 to the Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act), matched by English name. Existing additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives are permitted outside that list and are not imported, so an empty row does not show that Japan does not permit the substance.
South KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug SafetyNo listing matchedThis site imports Part III of South Korea’s Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, matched by CAS number, then INS number, then exact name. Mixed preparations and sanitisers are not imported, and an entry whose identifiers disagreed with a page’s is held for review, so an empty row does not show that South Korea does not permit the substance.
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted, with conditions21 CFR 172.712and 1 further provisionretrieved 2026-10-17
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

How much is permitted

A listing usually limits the quantity as well as the food. Only one of the forms that takes is a figure: quantum satis and good manufacturing practice permit the amount the technological effect requires and no more, which is a limit rather than the absence of one. Figures below are the range across every food category this page is listed in, and categories differ between regulators — see how much is permitted.

Canada—2 GMP
United States—2 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for 1,3-Butylene glycol. That is not an absence of control: where the listing says quantum satis or good manufacturing practice, the quantity is limited to what the effect requires.

What it is made from

Produced by chemical synthesis from petroleum-derived acetaldehyde.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number
107-88-0
InChIKey
PUPZLCDOIYMWBV-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 7896

How JECFA defines it

The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.

Butane-1,3-diol

Synonyms: 1,3-Butylene glycol; beta-Butylene glycol

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

Specification history
BUTAN - 1,3 – DIOL Prepared at the 23rd JECFA (1979), published in FNP 12 (1979) and in FNP 52 (1992). Metals and arsenic specifications revised at the 63rd JECFA (2004). An ADI of 0-4 mg/kg bw was established at the 23rd JECFA (1979)
SYNONYMS DEFINITION Chemical names C.A.S. number Chemical formula Structural formula
1,3-Butylene glycol, ß-butylene glycol Butan-1,3-diol 107-88-0 C 4 H 10 O 2
Formula weight Assay DESCRIPTION FUNCTIONAL USES Solubility (Vol. 4) Specific gravity (Vol. 4) Distillation range (Vol. 4)
90.12 Not less than 99% w/w Clear colourless, odourless, hygroscopic, viscous liquid Carrier solvent Miscible with water, acetone and ether; soluble in fixed oils, ethanol, ether 1.004 - 1.006 200-215 o
METHOD OF ASSAY
Proceed as directed under Hydroxyl Value in Volume 4 using 0.2 g of the sample and calculate the content by the formula:

Purity criteria

Water (Vol. 4) Lead (Vol. 4)
Not more than 0.5% w/w (Karl Fischer Method) Not more than 2 mg/kg Determine using an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the method described in Volume 4, “Instrumental Methods.”

FAO JECFA Monograph 1 (2006)

Every name it appears under

62 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

CAS registry number

  • 107-88-0
  • 55251-78-0

As it appears in regulation

  • 1,3-Butylene glycol

Other names

  • ( inverted exclamation markA)-1,3-Butanediol
  • (+/-) 1,3 butandiol
  • (+/-)-1,3-butandiol
  • (+/-)-1,3-Butanediol
  • (RS)-1,3-Butandiol
  • (RS)-1,3-Butanediol
  • (S)-(+)-1,3-butane diol
  • .beta.-Butylene glycol
  • 0-01-00-00477 (Beilstein Handbook Reference)
  • 1,3 -butanediol
  • 1,3 Butylene glycol
  • 1,3-Butandiol
  • 1,3-butane diol
  • 1,3-BUTANEDIOL
  • 1,3-Butanediol (Standard)
  • 1,3-Butanediol, (S)-
  • 1,3-butanediol, DL-
  • 1,3-Butanodiol
  • 1,3-Butylene glycol
  • 1,3-Butylenglykol
  • 1,3-Dihydroxybutane
  • 1-Methyl-1,3-propanediol
  • 3% Hyaluronic Acid Serum
  • 3CE SUPER SLIM PEN EYE LINER BLACK
  • 3CE SUPER SLIM PEN EYE LINER BROWN
  • 3CE SUPER SLIM PEN EYE LINER BURGUNDY BROWN
  • 3CE SUPER SLIM PEN EYE LINER LIGHT BROWN
  • 3XUS85K0RA
  • acmeros Lubricant X0026F3541
  • b-Butylene glycol
  • beta-Butylene glycol
  • BRN 1731276
  • Butane-1,3-diol
  • BUTANEDIOL,1,3-
  • BUTANEDIOL,3-
  • Butylene glycol
  • Butylene Glycol (Butane-1,3-diol)
  • Butylene glycol (NF)
  • CAS-107-88-0
  • Caswell No. 128GG
  • Chinese medicine patch
  • DL-1,3-butanediol
  • Herbal Moxibustion
  • HSDB 153
  • LingLongJiuHuo Linglong Moxibustion
  • LingLongJiuHuo Linglong Moxibustion Wormwood Moxibustion Patch
  • Methyltrimethylene glycol
  • MUMMY MASK
  • Natural Oriental Herb Care
  • QIZHOUGUAI Chinese medicine patch
  • R-butane-1,3-diol
  • racemic 1,3-butanediol
  • ShiZhenTaiYiTang Moxibustion Patch
  • Srripo Biotin Hair Treatment
  • utane-1,3-diol
  • VSHELL Hair Treatment Biotin Conditioner
  • Water-based Personal Lubricant, ACVIOO 001
  • WLN: QY1 & 2Q

Systematic names

  • Butane-1,3-diol

Hazard reference values

EFSA and JECFA have both set an acceptable daily intake for 1,3-Butylene glycol, and they agree: 4 mg/kg bw/day. An acceptable daily intake is a reference value set by a committee, not a threshold above which harm begins. See where the two committees differ.

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI4 mg/kg bw/day—JECFA1979
ADI4 mg/kg bw/dayconsumersEFSAnot identified in the dataset

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Common questions

Assembled from what is above, in the words the questions are usually asked in. Each answer is the same statement the relevant section makes, with the same citations behind it.

What is 1,3-Butylene glycol?
1,3-Butylene glycol is a solvent and carrier for flavourings, used to hold flavour compounds in solution.
What is 1,3-Butylene glycol used for in food?
It is listed as a solvent — the role Canada and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is 1,3-Butylene glycol banned in Europe?
No. 1,3-Butylene glycol does not appear on the EU's list of authorised food additives, which is not the same as being banned: the EU permits an additive only where it has authorised it, and usually the reason for an absence is that no one applied. The EU has made no finding against this substance. It does mean it may not be used as a food additive in the EU today.
Where is 1,3-Butylene glycol permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada and the US permit it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
Is 1,3-Butylene glycol vegan?
Yes. 1,3-Butylene glycol is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Sources for this page

  • ca retrieved 2026-10-17
  • ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17
  • jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable: a JSON record of this additive is given on request —how to ask for access.

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