BHA

E number E320INS 320CAS 25013-16-5

Used as an antioxidant.

This is the United States listing for butylated hydroxyanisole, a synthetic antioxidant used to keep fats from going rancid in cereals, snack foods, chewing gum and packaging.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of BHA by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted, with conditions21 CFR 172.110retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

32 food categories

highest permitted level 400 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.3.2 Beverage whiteners — 100 mg/kg
  • 01.5.1 Milk powder and cream powder (plain) — 100 mg/kg
  • 01.5.2 Milk and cream powder analogues — 100 mg/kg
  • 02.1.1 Butter oil, anhydrous milkfat, ghee — 175 mg/kg
  • 02.1.2 Vegetable oils and fats — 200 mg/kg
  • 02.1.3 Lard, tallow, fish oil, and other animal fats — 200 mg/kg
  • 02.2.2 Fat spreads, dairy fat spreads and blended spreads — 200 mg/kg
  • 02.3 Fat emulsions mainly of type oil-in-water, including mixed and/or flavoured products based on fat emulsions — 200 mg/kg
  • 02.4 Fat-based desserts excluding dairy-based dessert products of food category 01.7 — 200 mg/kg
  • 03.0 Edible ices, including sherbet and sorbet — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.2 Dried vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds — 200 mg/kg
  • 05.1.4 Cocoa and chocolate products — 200 mg/kg
  • 05.2 Confectionery including hard and soft candy, nougats, etc. other than food categories 05.1, 05.3, and 05.4 — 200 mg/kg
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 400 mg/kg
  • 05.4 Decorations (e.g. for fine bakery wares), toppings (non-fruit), and sweet sauces — 200 mg/kg
  • 06.3 Breakfast cereals, including rolled oats — 200 mg/kg
  • 06.4.3 Pre-cooked pastas and noodles and like products — 200 mg/kg
  • 07.0 Bakery wares — 200 mg/kg
  • 08.2 Processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts — 200 mg/kg
  • 08.3 Processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.2.1 Frozen fish, fish fillets, and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.2.2 Frozen battered fish, fish fillets and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.2.5 Smoked, dried, fermented, and/or salted fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.3 Semi-preserved fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.4 Fully preserved, including canned or fermented fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 200 mg/kg
  • 12.2 Herbs, spices, seasonings, and condiments (e.g. seasoning for instant noodles) — 200 mg/kg
  • 12.5 Soups and broths — 200 mg/kg
  • 12.6 Sauces and like products — 200 mg/kg
  • 12.8 Yeast and like products — 200 mg/kg
  • 13.6 Food supplements — 400 mg/kg
  • 15.1 Snacks - potato, cereal, flour or starch based (from roots and tubers, pulses and legumes) — 200 mg/kg
  • 15.2 Processed nuts, including coated nuts and nut mixtures (with e.g. dried fruit) — 200 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 320and 31 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Synthesised from para-methoxyphenol and isobutylene, both petroleum-derived.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
25013-16-5
InChIKey
MRBKEAMVRSLQPH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 8456

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E320

INS number

  • 320

CAS registry number

  • 121-00-6
  • 1341-82-8
  • 25013-16-5
  • 88-32-4
  • 921-00-6

As it appears in regulation

  • BHA

Other names

  • (1,1-Dimethylethyl)-4-methoxyphenol
  • 2(3)-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole
  • 2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methoxyphenol
  • 2-(tert-butyl)-4-methoxyphenol
  • 2-BHA
  • 2-Butyl-4-hydroxyanisole
  • 2-t-Butyl-4-methoxyphenol (BHA)
  • 2-Tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole
  • 2-tert-Butyl-4-methoxy-phenol
  • 2-tert-Butyl-4-methoxyphenol
  • 3-(1,1-Dimethylethyl)-4-hydroxyanisole
  • 3-BHA
  • 3-T-BUTYL-4-HYDROXYANISOLE
  • 3-tert-Butyl-4-hydroxyanisole
  • 3-tert-Butyl-p-hydroxyanisole
  • 3-Tertiary-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole
  • 4-Hydroxy-3-tert-butylanisole
  • 4-Methoxy-2-tert-butylphenol
  • 4-Methoxy-6-tert-butylphenol
  • A mixture of 2-tertiary-butyl-4- hydroxyanisole and 3-tertiary-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole
  • AMIF 72
  • AMIF72
  • Antioxyne B
  • Antrancine 12
  • BHA
  • BOA (antioxidant)
  • BRN 1867499
  • Butyl hydroxyanisole
  • Butyl Methoxyphenol
  • BUTYLATED HYDROXYANISOLE
  • Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)
  • butylhydroxyanisol
  • Butylhydroxyanisole
  • Butylhydroxyanisolum
  • Butylohydroksyanizol
  • CCRIS 3746
  • E 320
  • EEC No. E320
  • Embanox
  • FEMA No. 2183
  • HSDB 2750
  • INS NO.320
  • INS-320
  • Methoxyphenol, Butyl
  • Nipantiox 1 F
  • Nipantiox 1-F
  • Nipantiox 1F
  • o-tert-Butyl-p-methoxyphenol
  • Phenol, (1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methoxy-
  • Phenol, 2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methoxy-
  • Phenol, 2-tert-butyl-4-methoxy-
  • Phenol, tert-butyl-4-methoxy-
  • Premerge plus
  • Protex
  • Sustane 1-F
  • Sustane 1F
  • Tenox BHA
  • tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole
  • Tert-butyl-4-methoxyphenol
  • Tert-butyl-p-hydroxyanisole
  • tert-butylhydroxyanisole

Systematic names

  • 2-tert-butyl-4-methoxyphenol
  • 3-tert-butyl-4-methoxyphenol
  • tert-butyl-4-methoxyphenol

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI1 mg/kg bwconsumersEFSA FEEDAP2018
ADI1 mg/kg bw/dayadultsEFSA ANS2012
ADI1 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 by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • ecfr retrieved 2026-09-07
  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07

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

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/bha.json