Chlorofluorocarbon propellants

Chlorofluorocarbons were used as propellants in aerosol foods such as whipped cream. They are the unusual entry on this list: the FDA prohibited them not because of anything they do in the body but because of the damage they do to the stratospheric ozone layer.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Chlorofluorocarbon propellants by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationProhibited21 CFR 189.191retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

What it is made from

Fully halogenated hydrocarbons manufactured from petroleum-derived feedstocks and chlorine and fluorine. Food aerosols now use nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide or hydrocarbon propellants instead.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Every name it appears under

1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.

As it appears in regulation

  • Chlorofluorocarbon propellants

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

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/chlorofluorocarbon-propellants.json