Calcium stearate

CAS 1592-23-0

Listed as an anticaking agent and a lubricant or release agent by Canada and the US.

Listed as anticaking agents (CA, US) · lubricants and release agents (CA, US) · emulsifiers (US) · thickeners (US) · stabilisers (US) · flavouring agents and adjuvants (US) · formulation aids (US)
Chemical structure of Calcium stearate, from PubChem compound 15324
Structure from PubChem CID 15324 (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.

Calcium stearate is an anticaking agent and release agent, used to keep powders free-flowing and to stop sweets sticking to moulds.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Calcium stearate 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

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

4 permitted uses

Show every permitted use
  • In: Garlic salt; Onion salt. Purpose: Anticaking agent. Limit: If used singly, the amount not to exceed 2.0%. If used in any combination with other anticaking agents, the total combined amount not to exceed 2.0%. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Anticaking Agents (List 1), item C.3(a)
  • In: Salt. Purpose: Anticaking agent. Limit: If used singly, the amount not to exceed 1.0%, or 2.0% in the case of fine grained salt. If used in any combination with other anticaking agents, the total combined amount not to exceed 1.0%, or 2.0% in the case of fine grained salt. This total combined amount does not include any of propylene glycol, potassium ferrocyanide or sodium ferrocyanide that may be added up to their respective maximum levels of use set out in this list. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Anticaking Agents (List 1), item C.3(b)
  • In: Unstandardized dry mixes. Purpose: Anticaking agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Anticaking Agents (List 1), item C.3(c)
  • In: Unstandardized confectionery. Purpose: Release agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item C.10
Health Canadaand 3 further provisionsretrieved 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 AgencyPermitted, with conditions
Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 237, ステアリン酸カルシウム (“Calcium Stearate” in the unofficial English translation). …

Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 237, ステアリン酸カルシウム (“Calcium Stearate” in the unofficial English translation). Standards for use — Specifications and Standards for Foods, Food Additives, etc. (MHW Notification No. 370 of 1959), Part II (Food Additives), F (Standards for use): The Notification sets no standard for use (使用基準) for this additive, so it is not restricted there to particular foods or amounts. Compositional specifications for this additive, in the same Notification, are not imported and are not shown here; nor are the general rules in F 添加物一般, which apply to every additive.

Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act (MHW Ordinance No. 23 of 1948), Appended Table 1retrieved 2026-10-18
South KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug SafetyPermitted, with conditions
Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 1. …

Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 1. 일반식품첨가물 (general food additives), 스테아린산칼슘 (“Calcium Stearate”, the English the Code prints beside it); the Code marks it as also usable as a nutrient fortifier; 3. 영양강화제 (nutrient fortifiers), 스테아린산칼슘; nutrient: 칼슘(Ca); the Code marks it as also usable as a general food additive. Main use (주용도) of 스테아린산칼슘: 유화제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 스테아린산칼슘: (1) [to be used under the general standard for use in II. 2. 1), the minimum amount that achieves the technical effect, with no limit set for this additive in particular] “II. 2. 1)의 규정에 따라 사용하여야 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 StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 184.1229retrieved 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, 2 no quantity stated
Japan—1 no quantity stated
South Korea—1 no quantity stated
United States—1 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Calcium stearate. 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 reacting stearic acid with a calcium source. The stearic acid may be from vegetable oil or from animal tallow, and the label will not say which.

  • Vegan status depends on the source
  • Vegetarian status depends on the source
  • May raise a halal question
  • May raise a kosher question

This is not an omission. What this additive is made from is not fixed — depending on the manufacturer it may be plant, animal or microbial in origin, nobody is required to say which, and the same product can change source between production runs. Ask the manufacturer if it matters to you; a label cannot answer it.

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number
1592-23-0
InChIKey
CJZGTCYPCWQAJB-UHFFFAOYSA-L
PubChem
CID 15324

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 1592-23-0
  • 8000-75-7

As it appears in regulation

  • Calcium stearate

Other names

  • 6.6-7.4% Ca basis
  • Aquacal
  • AULABRITE CA 65
  • BAERLOCHER 5862
  • C36H70CaO4
  • CALCII STEARAS [WHO-IP LATIN]
  • Calcium bis(stearate)
  • calcium dioctadecanoate
  • Calcium distearate
  • Calcium distearate, pure
  • Calcium octadecanoate
  • Calcium octadecanoate, Calcium distearate
  • CALCIUM STEARATE
  • Calcium stearate (JP17/NF)
  • calcium stearate powder
  • CALCIUMSTEARATE
  • Calstar
  • E-470(I)STEARIC ACID, CALCIUM SALT
  • Flexichem
  • Flexichem CS
  • HSDB 905
  • INS NO.470(I)STEARIC ACID, CALCIUM SALT
  • INS-470(I)STEARIC ACID, CALCIUM SALT
  • NISSAN CALCIUM STEARATE S
  • Nopcote C 104
  • Octadecanoic acid, calcium salt
  • Stavinor 30
  • STAVINOR CECAVON CA
  • Stearic acid, calcium salt
  • Witco G 339S

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADInot specified—JECFA1985

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 stearate?
Calcium stearate is an anticaking agent and release agent, used to keep powders free-flowing and to stop sweets sticking to moulds.
What is Calcium stearate used for in food?
It is listed as an anticaking agent and a lubricant or release agent — the role Canada and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is Calcium stearate banned in Europe?
No. Calcium stearate 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 Calcium stearate permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada, Japan, South Korea 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 Calcium stearate vegan?
It depends on the source, and a label will not tell you. Calcium stearate can be made from plant or animal material, manufacturers are not obliged to say which, and the same product can change between production runs. Anyone who needs to know has to ask the manufacturer.

Sources for this page

  • ca retrieved 2026-10-17
  • jp retrieved 2026-10-18
  • kr retrieved 2026-10-18
  • 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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