Ethyl formate

CAS 109-94-4

Ethyl formate is a flavouring with a rum and raspberry character, and has been used as a fumigant for dried fruit and nuts.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Ethyl formate 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 184.1295retrieved 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 reacting ethanol with formic acid. It occurs naturally in some fruit.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
109-94-4
InChIKey
WBJINCZRORDGAQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 8025

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 109-94-4

As it appears in regulation

  • Ethyl formate

Other names

  • Aethylformiat
  • Areginal
  • Carboxylic acid oxaethane
  • Caswell No. 443A
  • EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 043102
  • ETHOXYCARBONYL GROUP
  • Ethyl ester of formic acid
  • ethyl format
  • Ethyl formate
  • Ethyl formate (natural)
  • Ethyl formate, 97%
  • Ethyl formate, >=97%, FCC, FG
  • Ethyl formate, analytical standard
  • Ethyl formate, natural, >=95%, FG
  • Ethyl formate, puriss., 95%
  • Ethyl formate, reagent grade, 97%
  • Ethyl formate, SAJ special grade, >=97.0%
  • Ethyl formate, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Reference Standard
  • Ethyl formic ester
  • Ethyl methanoate
  • Ethyle (formiate d')
  • Ethylester kyseliny mravenci
  • Ethylformiaat
  • ethylformiat
  • Ethylformic ester
  • Etile (formiato di)
  • EtOCHO
  • FEMA No. 2434
  • FEMA Number 2434
  • formiato de etilo
  • Formic acid, ethyl ester
  • Formic acid-ethyl ester
  • Formic ether
  • HCO2Et
  • HCOOC2H5
  • HCOOEt
  • HSDB 943
  • InChI=1/C3H6O2/c1-2-5-3-4/h3H,2H2,1H
  • Mrowczan etylu
  • Rizatriptan impurity 17
  • WLN: VHO2

Systematic names

  • ethyl formate

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-formate.json