Caffeine citrate

Chemical structure of Caffeine citrate, from PubChem compound 6241
Structure from PubChem CID 6241 (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.

A salt of caffeine with citric acid, more soluble than caffeine itself, used where a drink is to carry caffeine in solution.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Caffeine citrate 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, with conditions

2 permitted uses

Show every permitted use
  • In: Cola type beverages; Concentrates for cola type beverages. Purpose: To characterize the product. Limit: 150 ppm in the beverage as consumed, calculated as caffeine. Amendment notices: M-FAA-25-07. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item C.2(a)
  • In: Concentrates for non-alcoholic carbonated water-based flavoured and sweetened beverages other than cola type beverages; Non-alcoholic carbonated water-based flavoured and sweetened beverages other than cola type beverages. Purpose: To characterize the product. Limit: If used singly, the total amount not to exceed 150 ppm in the beverage as consumed, calculated as caffeine. If used in combination with caffeine, the total combined amount not to exceed 150 ppm in the beverage as consumed, calculated as caffeine. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item C.2(b)
Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8)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 AdministrationNot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
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 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Caffeine citrate. 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 combining caffeine with citric acid. The caffeine may be extracted from coffee or tea or made synthetically.

InChIKey
RCQXSQPPHJPGOF-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 6241

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 2097117-68-3
  • 69-22-7

Other names

  • 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid;1,3,7-trimethylpurine-2,6-dione
  • 3,7-DIHYDRO-1,3,7-TRIMETHYL-1H-PURINE-2,6-DIONE CITRATE
  • Cafcit
  • Cafcit (TN)
  • Caffeina Citrata
  • Caffeina citrate
  • Caffeine Citrate
  • Caffeine citrate (1:1)
  • Caffeine citrate (USP)
  • Caffeine Citrate Oral Solution
  • Caffeine, Citrated
  • caffeine-citric acid 1/1
  • CAS-69-22-7
  • Citrated caffein
  • Citrated caffeine
  • citric acid;1,3,7-trimethylpurine-2,6-dione
  • peyona

Systematic names

  • 1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-, mixt. with 3,7-dihydro-1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione
  • 1,3,7-trimethyl-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-purine-2,6-dione; 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid
  • 1H-PURINE-2,6-DIONE, 3,7-DIHYDRO-1,3,7-TRIMETHYL-, 2-HYDROXYPROPANE-1,2,3-TRICARBOXYLATE
  • 2-Hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid--1,3,7-trimethyl-3,7-dihydro-1H-purine-2,6-dione (1/1)

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 Caffeine citrate?
A salt of caffeine with citric acid, more soluble than caffeine itself, used where a drink is to carry caffeine in solution.
Where is Caffeine citrate permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.

Sources for this page

  • ca 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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