DL-Tartaric acid
DL-Tartaric acidCAS 133-37-9
The racemic form of tartaric acid — equal parts of the two mirror-image molecules — used as an acid, an emulsifier and a synergist for antioxidants. The L-form that occurs in grapes has its own page.
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 | Permitted, with conditions | Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 205, ＤＬ―酒石酸（別名ｄｌ―酒石酸） (“DL-Tartaric Acid (dl-Tartaric Acid)” in the unofficial English translation). …Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 205, ＤＬ―酒石酸（別名ｄｌ―酒石酸） (“DL-Tartaric Acid (dl-Tartaric Acid)” 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 Korea | Permitted, 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), DL-주석산 (“DL-Tartaric Acid”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of DL-주석산: 산도조절제. Standard for use (사용기준) of DL-주석산: (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 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.
| Japan | — | 1 no quantity stated |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | — | 1 no quantity stated |
No regulator sets a figure for DL-Tartaric acid. 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 synthetically, which is what produces the racemic mixture; tartaric acid recovered from winemaking is the L-form.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 133-37-9
How JECFA defines it
The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.
DL-Tartaric Acid
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Specification history
- Prepared at the 53rd JECFA (1999) and published in FNP 52 Add 7 (1999), superseding specifications prepared at the 21st JECFA (1977), published in NMRS 57 (1977) and in FNP 52 (1992). No ADI was allocated at the 27th JECFA (1983)
- SYNONYMS DEFINITION Chemical names C.A.S. number Chemical formula Structural formula
- dl-Tartaric acid DL-Tartaric acid, 2,3-dihydroxybutanedioic acid; 2,3-dihydroxysuccinic acid 133-37-9 C 4 H 6 O 6
- Formula weight Assay DESCRIPTION FUNCTIONAL USES Solubility (Vol. 4) Optical rotation (Vol. 4) Test for tartrate (Vol. 4) Loss on drying (Vol. 4) Melting range (Vol. 4)
- 150.09 Not less than 99.5% on the dried basis Colourless or translucent crystals, or a white crystalline powder; odourless Synergist for antioxidants, acid, emulsifier, sequestrant, flavouring agent Freely soluble in water; sparingly soluble in ethanol A 1 in 10 solution has no optical activity Passes test Not more than 0.5% (over P 2 O 5 , 3 h) 200 - 206 o with decomposition when heated rapidly in a sealed capillary-tube
- METHOD OF ASSAY
- Weigh accurately about 2 g of the dried sample, dissolve it in 40 ml of water, add phenolphthalein TS, and titrate with 1 N sodium hydroxide. Each ml of 1 N sodium hydroxide is equivalent to 75.04 mg of C 4 H 6 O 6 .
Purity criteria
- Sulfated ash (Vol. 4) Readily oxidizable
- Not more than 0.1% Dissolve 1 g of the sample in 25 ml dilute sulfuric acid TS. Add 4 ml of 0.1
- substances
- N potassium permanganate while keeping the solution at 20 o . The colour o f the solution does not disappear within 3 min.
- Sulfates (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 0.05% 0.4 g of the sample meets the requirements of the Limit Test, using 0.5 ml of 0.01 N sulfuric acid in the control
- Lead (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 2 mg/kg Determine using an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the method described in Volume 4, “Instrumental Methods.”
Every name it appears under
1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.
Other names
- DL-Tartaric acid
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 DL-Tartaric acid?
- The racemic form of tartaric acid — equal parts of the two mirror-image molecules — used as an acid, an emulsifier and a synergist for antioxidants. The L-form that occurs in grapes has its own page.
- Where is DL-Tartaric acid permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, Japan and South Korea 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 DL-Tartaric acid vegan?
- Yes. DL-Tartaric acid is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- jp retrieved 2026-10-18
- kr retrieved 2026-10-18
- jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23
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