Cetylpyridinium chloride
123-03-5 · 1-Cetylpyridinium chloride · 1-Palmitylpyridinium chloride · Acetoquat CPC · Aktivex · Alcohol Free · Ammonyx CPC · Antiplaque solution · Antispetic · Biosept · BioShell · Breath mellow Azalea Peach · BreathAway · Catamium · Ceeprin chloride · Ceepryn · Ceepryn chloride · Cepacol · Cepacol chloride · Ceprim · Cetamium · Cetilpiridinio cloruro · Cetyl pyridinium chloride · Cetylpyridini chloridum · Cetylpyridinii chloridum · cetylpyridinium chloride · CETYLPYRIDINIUM CHLORIDE ANHYDROUS · Chloride, Ceepryn · Chlorure de cetylpyridinium · CleanZing · Cloruro de cetilpiridinio · Corinz · CVS Antiseptic · Dobendan · E-zen Gargle · Fixanol C · Gppe dental rinse · Gppe oral liq · Health · hexadecylpyridinium chloride · Intexsan CPC · Medilave · Merocet · Merocets plus · Merovit · mouth fresh · mouthwash · Multi-Action Antiseptic · N-Cetylpyridinium chloride · N-Hexadecylpyridinium chloride · Pristacin · Pyridinium, 1-hexadecyl-, chloride (1:1) · Pyrisept · QCare · Quaternario CPC · Scope · Scope Icy Blast · Search · Swabettes Hoechst · TheraStom · Cetylpyridinium chlorideListed as a preservative by the US.
Listed as preservatives (US)
- United States: Antimicrobial agents — 21 CFR 173.375, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(2)
Cetylpyridinium chloride is an antimicrobial applied to poultry carcasses during processing. It is more familiar as the active ingredient in some mouthwashes.
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 | No listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here. | ||
| 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 | Permitted, with conditions | 21 CFR 173.375retrieved 2026-10-17 | |
| 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.
| United States | — | 1 no quantity stated |
|---|
No regulator sets a figure for Cetylpyridinium chloride. 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.
GRAS notices to the FDA
A GRAS notice is a company’s conclusion that a substance is generally recognised as safe for the use it describes. FDA’s letter responds to that conclusion, for that notifier and that use. It is not a listing in 21 CFR, and it is not counted as a US permission above. The substance and use are as FDA’s inventory words them; this site matched the notice to this page by exact name.
GRN No. 38 · Cetylpyridinium chloride · Safe Foods Corporation
Intended use: Use on the outside surface of raw and fully cooked meat and poultry products as an antimicrobial agent at a level not to exceed 1.0 percent
FDA’s response (2000-02-29): Notice does not provide a basis for a GRAS determination
GRN No. 31 · Cetylpyridinium chloride · Safe Foods Corporation
Intended use: Use on raw and fully cooked foods including, poultry, red meat, fish and shellfish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nutmeats, and dairy products as an antimicrobial agent at levels not to exceed 1.0 percent
FDA’s response (2000-01-10): At the notifier's request, FDA ceased to evaluate this notice
What it is made from
Produced by chemical synthesis from pyridine and a long-chain alkyl chloride. The alkyl chain may derive from plant or animal fats.
- 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.
- InChIKey
- YMKDRGPMQRFJGP-UHFFFAOYSA-M
- PubChem
- CID 31239
Every name it appears under
61 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
CAS registry number
- 123-03-5
As it appears in regulation
- Cetylpyridinium chloride
Other names
- 1-Cetylpyridinium chloride
- 1-Palmitylpyridinium chloride
- Acetoquat CPC
- Aktivex
- Alcohol Free
- Ammonyx CPC
- Antiplaque solution
- Antispetic
- Biosept
- BioShell
- Breath mellow Azalea Peach
- BreathAway
- Catamium
- Ceeprin chloride
- Ceepryn
- Ceepryn chloride
- Cepacol
- Cepacol chloride
- Ceprim
- Cetamium
- Cetilpiridinio cloruro
- Cetyl pyridinium chloride
- Cetylpyridini chloridum
- Cetylpyridinii chloridum
- cetylpyridinium chloride
- CETYLPYRIDINIUM CHLORIDE ANHYDROUS
- Chloride, Ceepryn
- Chlorure de cetylpyridinium
- CleanZing
- Cloruro de cetilpiridinio
- Corinz
- CVS Antiseptic
- Dobendan
- E-zen Gargle
- Fixanol C
- Gppe dental rinse
- Gppe oral liq
- Health
- hexadecylpyridinium chloride
- Intexsan CPC
- Medilave
- Merocet
- Merocets plus
- Merovit
- mouth fresh
- mouthwash
- Multi-Action Antiseptic
- N-Cetylpyridinium chloride
- N-Hexadecylpyridinium chloride
- Pristacin
- Pyridinium, 1-hexadecyl-, chloride (1:1)
- Pyrisept
- QCare
- Quaternario CPC
- Scope
- Scope Icy Blast
- Search
- Swabettes Hoechst
- TheraStom
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 Cetylpyridinium chloride?
- Cetylpyridinium chloride is an antimicrobial applied to poultry carcasses during processing. It is more familiar as the active ingredient in some mouthwashes.
- What is Cetylpyridinium chloride used for in food?
- It is listed as a preservative — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Is Cetylpyridinium chloride banned in Europe?
- No. Cetylpyridinium chloride 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 Cetylpyridinium chloride permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, the US 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 Cetylpyridinium chloride vegan?
- It depends on the source, and a label will not tell you. Cetylpyridinium chloride 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
- 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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