Ethyl alcohol

CAS 64-17-5

Ethyl alcohol is used as a solvent and carrier for flavourings and extracts, and as a preservative — vanilla extract is essentially vanilla in alcohol.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Ethyl alcohol 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 184.1293retrieved 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

Produced by fermenting sugars with yeast, or synthetically from ethylene. Its use as a food solvent raises a halal question that its function does not resolve.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • May raise a halal question
  • May raise a kosher question
CAS registry number
64-17-5
InChIKey
LFQSCWFLJHTTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 702

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 64-17-5

As it appears in regulation

  • Ethyl alcohol

Other names

  • 1-Hydroxyethane
  • absolute alcohol
  • Absolute ethanol
  • Aethanol
  • Aethylalkohol
  • ALC
  • Alcare Hand Degermer
  • alcohol
  • Alcohol (ethyl alcohol)
  • Alcohol dehydrated
  • Alcohol, Absolute
  • Alcohol, anhydrous
  • Alcohol, diluted
  • Alcohol, ethyl
  • Alcool ethylique
  • Alcool etilico
  • Algrain
  • Alkohol
  • Alkoholu etylowego
  • Anhydrol
  • Anhydrous ethanol
  • Dehydrated alcohol
  • Dehydrated ethanol
  • Denatured ethanol
  • etanol
  • Etanolo
  • ethanol
  • Ethanol 200 proof
  • Ethicap
  • ethyl alcohol
  • Ethyl alcohol & water, 10%
  • Ethyl alcohol & water, 20%
  • Ethyl alcohol & water, 30%
  • Ethyl alcohol & water, 40%
  • Ethyl alcohol & water, 5%
  • Ethyl alcohol & water, 50%
  • Ethyl alcohol & water, 60%
  • Ethyl alcohol & water, 70%
  • Ethyl alcohol & water, 80%
  • Ethyl alcohol & water, 95%
  • Ethyl alcohol & water, 96%
  • Ethyl alcohol anhydrous
  • Ethyl alcohol usp
  • Ethyl hydrate
  • Ethyl hydroxide
  • Ethylalcohol
  • EtOH
  • Etylowy alkohol
  • Fermentation alcohol
  • grain alcohol
  • Hinetoless
  • Hydroxyethane
  • Jaysol
  • Jaysol S
  • Methylcarbinol
  • Potato alcohol
  • Spirt
  • Synasol
  • Tecsol
  • Tecsol C

Systematic names

  • ethanol

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/ethyl-alcohol.json