Carbon dioxide

E number E290INS 290CAS 124-38-9

Used as a preservative — Codex also lists it as carbonating agent, foaming agent, packaging gas, propellant.

Carbon dioxide is the gas in every carbonated drink, and also a preservative: it displaces oxygen in modified-atmosphere packaging, which is what keeps packaged salads and meat fresh.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Carbon dioxide by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 184.1240retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

19 food categories

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

Show every food category
  • 01.2.1.1 Fermented milks (plain), not heat-treated after fermentation — GMP
  • 01.2.1.2 Fermented milks (plain), heat-treated after fermentation — GMP
  • 01.2.2 Renneted milk (plain) — GMP
  • 01.4.2 Sterilized and UHT creams, whipping and whipped creams, and reduced fat creams (plain) — GMP
  • 04.1.1.3 Peeled or cut fresh fruit — GMP
  • 06.4.1 Fresh pastas and noodles and like products — GMP
  • 09.2.5 Smoked, dried, fermented, and/or salted fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP
  • 13.1.1 Infant formulae — GMP
  • 13.1.2 Follow-up formulae — GMP
  • 13.1.3 Formulae for special medical purposes for infants — GMP
  • 13.2 Complementary foods for infants and young children — GMP
  • 14.1.1.1 Natural mineral waters and source waters — GMP
  • 14.1.1.2 Table waters and soda waters — GMP
  • 14.1.2.1 Fruit juice — GMP
  • 14.1.2.3 Concentrates for fruit juice — GMP
  • 14.1.3.1 Fruit nectar — GMP
  • 14.1.3.3 Concentrates for fruit nectar — GMP
  • 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions, and other hot cereal and grain beverages, excluding cocoa — GMP
  • 14.2.3 Grape wines — GMP
CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 290and 19 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Captured as a by-product of ammonia manufacture, fermentation and other industrial processes, then purified to food grade.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
124-38-9
InChIKey
CURLTUGMZLYLDI-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 280

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E290

INS number

  • 290

CAS registry number

  • 124-38-9
  • 18923-20-1
  • 2684-00-6

As it appears in regulation

  • Carbon dioxide

Other names

  • AER Fixus
  • After-damp
  • Air 90% Carbon Dioxide 10%
  • Anhydride carbonique
  • Anhydride, Carbonic
  • carbon dioxid
  • Carbon dioxide
  • CARBON DIOXIDE (13C; 18O2)
  • Carbon dioxide (JP18/USP)
  • Carbon Dioxide Air
  • Carbon Dioxide Air Mixture
  • CARBON DIOXIDE CARBON DIOXIDE
  • Carbon Dioxide Compressed
  • Carbon Dioxide Nitrogen
  • Carbon Dioxide Refrigerated
  • Carbon Dioxide Std CO2 standard 2g/L (2mL ampoules)
  • Carbon Dioxide Std CO2 standard 3g/L (2mL ampoules)
  • Carbon Dioxide Std CO2 standard 4g/L (2mL ampoules)
  • Carbon Dioxide Std CO2 standard 6g/L (2mL ampoules)
  • Carbon dioxide, >=99.8%
  • Carbon dioxide, Messer(R) CANgas, 99.995%
  • Carbon dioxide, puriss., >=99.998%
  • Carbon dioxide, refrigerated liquid
  • Carbon dioxide, solid or dry ice
  • CARBON DIOXIDE, USP
  • Carbon oxide (CO2)
  • Carbon oxide, di-
  • Carbon-12 dioxide
  • Carbonic acid anhydride
  • Carbonic acid gas
  • Carbonic anhydride
  • Carbonica
  • Cardice
  • Caswell No. 163
  • CO2F
  • Dioxide, Carbon
  • Dioxido de carbono
  • dioxidocarbon
  • Dioxomethane
  • Dioxomethane #
  • Dioxyde de carbone
  • Dricold
  • Drikold
  • Dry ice
  • Dry ice (solid
  • Dry ice (solid form)
  • dry-ice
  • E 290
  • EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 016601
  • epoxyketone
  • HSDB 516
  • INS NO.290
  • INS-290
  • Khladon 744
  • Kohlendioxyd
  • Kohlensaure
  • Makr carbon dioxide
  • methane, dioxo-
  • methanedione

Systematic names

  • dioxomethane

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 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/carbon-dioxide.json