Calcium hypochlorite
7778-54-3 · 11DXB629VZ · B-K powder · Bleaching powder · Calcium chlorohydrochlorite · Calcium chlorohypochloride · calcium dihypochlorite · Calcium hypochloride · Calcium Hypochlorite · Calcium Hypochlorite (Technical Grade) · Calcium oxychloride · Caporit · Chemichlon G · Chemichlor G · Chloride of lime · Chlorine of lime · Chlorolime chemical · EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 014701 · Hipoclorito calcico · HTH (bleaching agent) · HY-Chlor · Hypochlorite de calcium · Hypochlorous acid, calcium salt · Hypochlorous acid, calcium salt (2:1) · Lime chloride · Losantin · Pittchlor · Pittcide · Pittclor · Sentry · Solvox KS · T-EusolListed as a starch-modifying agent by Canada.
Listed as starch-modifying agents (CA)
- Canada: Starch-modifying agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Starch-Modifying Agents (List 13)
A chlorine-releasing compound used to sanitise process water and equipment and to wash produce, rather than as an ingredient of a food.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | No 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. | ||
| Canada | Permitted | no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) In: Starch used in the manufacture of modified starch. Purpose: Starch-modifying agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0037. | Health Canada, List of Permitted Starch-Modifying Agents (List 13), item C.1retrieved 2026-10-17 |
| European Union | No 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 Britain | No 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. | ||
| Japan | No 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 Korea | Permitted, with conditions | Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 2. …Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 2. 가공보조제 (processing aids), 차아염소산칼슘 (“Calcium Hypochlorite”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 차아염소산칼슘: 살균제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 차아염소산칼슘: (1) “차아염소산칼슘은 과일류, 채소류 등 식품의 살균 목적에 한하여 사용하여야 하며, 최종식품의 완성 전에 제거하여야 한다.” The Korean is the standard as published. There is no official English translation of the current Code (the English version on MFDS’s website is the 2020 edition and has no legal effect); the English in square brackets is this site’s description of what each sentence does, not a translation of the foods or the levels. Compositional specifications (Part IV) are not imported, nor are the general standards in Part II, which apply to every additive. | Standards and Specifications for Food Additives (식품첨가물의 기준 및 규격), MFDS Notification, Part III (Standards for use, by item)retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| United States | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. | ||
| Codex Alimentarius | Not 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 | — | 1 GMP |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | — | 1 no quantity stated |
No regulator sets a figure for Calcium hypochlorite. 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 chlorinating lime.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- InChIKey
- ZKQDCIXGCQPQNV-UHFFFAOYSA-N
- PubChem
- CID 24504
Every name it appears under
32 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
CAS registry number
- 7778-54-3
Other names
- 11DXB629VZ
- B-K powder
- Bleaching powder
- Calcium chlorohydrochlorite
- Calcium chlorohypochloride
- calcium dihypochlorite
- Calcium hypochloride
- Calcium Hypochlorite
- Calcium Hypochlorite (Technical Grade)
- Calcium oxychloride
- Caporit
- Chemichlon G
- Chemichlor G
- Chloride of lime
- Chlorine of lime
- Chlorolime chemical
- EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 014701
- Hipoclorito calcico
- HTH (bleaching agent)
- HY-Chlor
- Hypochlorite de calcium
- Hypochlorous acid, calcium salt
- Hypochlorous acid, calcium salt (2:1)
- Lime chloride
- Losantin
- Pittchlor
- Pittcide
- Pittclor
- Sentry
- Solvox KS
- T-Eusol
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 Calcium hypochlorite?
- A chlorine-releasing compound used to sanitise process water and equipment and to wash produce, rather than as an ingredient of a food.
- What is Calcium hypochlorite used for in food?
- It is listed as a starch-modifying agent — the role Canada assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Where is Calcium hypochlorite permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada and South Korea 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 Calcium hypochlorite vegan?
- Yes. Calcium hypochlorite 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
- kr retrieved 2026-10-18
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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