Calcium hypophosphite
7789-79-9 · Calcium Hypophosphite · CALCIUM PHOSPHINATE · Calciumphosphinat · LITFOGPYONJRNO-UHFFFAOYSA-LCAS 7789-79-9
Listed as an antioxidant, an emulsifier and a thickener by the US and Canada.
Listed as antioxidants (US) · emulsifiers (CA) · thickeners (CA) · stabilisers (CA)
- United States: Antioxidant — FDA, Substances Added to Food: CALCIUM HYPOPHOSPHITE
- Canada: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Canada: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
- Canada: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4)
A calcium salt of hypophosphorous acid, listed by Health Canada as a food additive. Hypophosphites act as reducing agents, which is what distinguishes them from the phosphates.
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: Unstandardized dessert mixes. Purpose: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. | Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4), item C.8retrieved 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 | No 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 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 |
|---|
No regulator sets a figure for Calcium hypophosphite. 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 FDA’s inventory records
This page holds no listing for Calcium hypophosphite in the parts of 21 CFR this site reads. FDA’s Substances Added to Food inventory does carry it, as CALCIUM HYPOPHOSPHITE, pointing at no regulation at all.
Technical effects FDA records: antioxidant.
The inventory is an information resource: a row means FDA holds information about the substance’s use in food, not that the substance is listed for that use. It is shown apart from the permissions above and is not counted as a US permission anywhere on this site.
What it is made from
Made by reacting phosphorus with lime.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 7789-79-9
- InChIKey
- LITFOGPYONJRNO-UHFFFAOYSA-L
- PubChem
- CID 24618
Every name it appears under
5 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
CAS registry number
- 7789-79-9
Other names
- Calcium Hypophosphite
- CALCIUM PHOSPHINATE
- Calciumphosphinat
- LITFOGPYONJRNO-UHFFFAOYSA-L
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 hypophosphite?
- A calcium salt of hypophosphorous acid, listed by Health Canada as a food additive. Hypophosphites act as reducing agents, which is what distinguishes them from the phosphates.
- What is Calcium hypophosphite used for in food?
- It is listed as an antioxidant, an emulsifier and a thickener — the role the US and Canada assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Where is Calcium hypophosphite 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.
- Is Calcium hypophosphite vegan?
- Yes. Calcium hypophosphite 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
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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