Ammonium citrate, dibasic

CAS 3012-65-5

Listed as an acidity regulator by Canada and the US.

Listed as acidity regulators (CA, US) · flavour enhancers (US) · sequestrants (CA) · lubricants and release agents (US)
Chemical structure of Ammonium citrate, dibasic, from PubChem compound 18171
Structure from PubChem CID 18171 (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.

Dibasic ammonium citrate is a buffer and sequestrant, used to control acidity and to tie up trace metals that would otherwise catalyse spoilage.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Ammonium citrate, dibasic 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: Unstandardized foods. Purpose: Acidity regulator. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Acidity Regulators and Acid-Reacting Materials (List 10), item A.6
  • In: Unstandardized foods. Purpose: Sequestering agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Sequestering Agents (List 12), item A.1
Health Canadaand 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 AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 184.1140retrieved 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—1 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Ammonium citrate, dibasic. 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

Made by neutralising fermentation-derived citric acid with ammonia.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number
3012-65-5
InChIKey
YXVFQADLFFNVDS-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 18171

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 3012-65-5

As it appears in regulation

  • Ammonium citrate, dibasic

Other names

  • 1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-, ammonium salt (1:2)
  • 1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-, diammonium salt
  • 2-Hydroxy-1,2,3-propanetricarboxylic acid, diammonium salt
  • AmmCitrate
  • Ammonium citrate dibasic
  • Ammonium Citrate Dibasic ACS Granular
  • ammonium hydrogen citrate
  • Ammonium hydrogencitrate
  • Ammonium monohydrogen citrate
  • Ammonium monohydrogen citrate; Citrate diammonium hydrogen
  • Ammonium monohydrogencitrat
  • Ammonium monohydrogencitrate
  • Citrate (diammonium)
  • Citric acid ammonium salt
  • citric acid diammonium salt
  • DA-H-C cpd
  • di-Ammonium hydrogen citrate
  • Diammonium 2-hydroxy-1,2,3-propanetricarboxylate
  • diammonium 3-carboxy-3-hydroxypentanedioate
  • DIAMMONIUM CITRATE
  • Diammonium citrate (secondary)
  • Diammonium hydrogen 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylate
  • Diammonium hydrogen citrate
  • diazanium;3-carboxy-3-hydroxypentanedioate
  • Dibasic ammonium citrate
  • HSDB 300
  • Microstop
  • N9BUG430K8

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

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 Ammonium citrate, dibasic?
Dibasic ammonium citrate is a buffer and sequestrant, used to control acidity and to tie up trace metals that would otherwise catalyse spoilage.
What is Ammonium citrate, dibasic used for in food?
It is listed as an acidity regulator — the role Canada and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is Ammonium citrate, dibasic banned in Europe?
No. Ammonium citrate, dibasic 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 Ammonium citrate, dibasic 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 Ammonium citrate, dibasic vegan?
Yes. Ammonium citrate, dibasic 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

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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