Ethyl para-hydroxybenzoate

E number E214INS 214CAS 120-47-8

Used as a preservative.

Ethylparaben is a preservative used in a small number of foods, working over a wider pH range than the benzoates.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Ethyl para-hydroxybenzoate by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationNot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

38 food categories

highest permitted level 1,500 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.6.4 Processed cheese — 300 mg/kg
  • 01.6.5 Cheese analogues — 500 mg/kg
  • 01.7 Dairy-based desserts (e.g. pudding, fruit or flavoured yoghurt) — 120 mg/kg
  • 02.2.2 Fat spreads, dairy fat spreads and blended spreads — 300 mg/kg
  • 02.3 Fat emulsions mainly of type oil-in-water, including mixed and/or flavoured products based on fat emulsions — 300 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.10 Fermented fruit products — 800 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.11 Fruit fillings for pastries — 800 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.2 Dried fruit — 800 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.3 Fruit in vinegar, oil, or brine — 250 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.5 — 250 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.6 Fruit-based spreads (e.g. chutney) excluding products of food category — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.7 Candied fruit — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.8 Fruit preparations, including pulp, purees, fruit toppings and coconut milk — 800 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.9 Fruit-based desserts, incl. fruit-flavoured water-based desserts — 800 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.3 Vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds in vinegar, oil, brine, or soybean sauce — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.5 Vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweed, and nut and seed purees and spreads (e.g. peanut butter) — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.6 Vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweed, and nut and seed pulps and preparations (e.g. vegetable desserts and sauces, candied vegetables) other than food category 04.2.2.5 — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.7 Fermented vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera) and seaweed products, excluding fermented soybean products of food categories 06.8.6, 06.8.7, 12.9.1, — 300 mg/kg
  • 05.1.3 Cocoa-based spreads, incl. fillings — 300 mg/kg
  • 05.1.5 Imitation chocolate, chocolate substitute products — 300 mg/kg
  • 05.2 Confectionery including hard and soft candy, nougats, etc. other than food categories 05.1, 05.3, and 05.4 — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 1,500 mg/kg
  • 05.4 Decorations (e.g. for fine bakery wares), toppings (non-fruit), and sweet sauces — 300 mg/kg
  • 07.2 Fine bakery wares (sweet, salty, savoury) and mixes — 300 mg/kg
  • 08.4 Edible casings (e.g. sausage casings) — 36 mg/kg
  • 09.3 Semi-preserved fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 11.4 Other sugars and syrups (e.g. xylose, maple syrup, sugar toppings) — 100 mg/kg
  • 12.3 Vinegars — 100 mg/kg
  • 12.4 Mustards — 300 mg/kg
  • 12.6 Sauces and like products — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 14.1.4 Water-based flavoured drinks, including "sport," “energy,” or "electrolyte" drinks and particulated drinks — 500 mg/kg
  • 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions, and other hot cereal and grain beverages, excluding cocoa — 450 mg/kg
  • 14.2.2 Cider and perry — 200 mg/kg
  • 14.2.4 Wines (other than grape) — 200 mg/kg
  • 14.2.5 Mead — 200 mg/kg
  • 14.2.7 Aromatized alcoholic beverages (e.g. beer, wine and spirituous cooler-type beverages, low-alcoholic refreshers) — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 15.1 Snacks - potato, cereal, flour or starch based (from roots and tubers, pulses and legumes) — 300 mg/kg
  • 15.2 Processed nuts, including coated nuts and nut mixtures (with e.g. dried fruit) — 300 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 214and 37 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Made by esterifying para-hydroxybenzoic acid with ethanol.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
120-47-8
InChIKey
NUVBSKCKDOMJSU-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 8434

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E214

INS number

  • 214

CAS registry number

  • 120-47-8

Other names

  • 4-(Ethoxycarbonyl)phenol
  • 4-Carbethoxyphenol
  • 4-Hydroxy-benzoic acid ethyl ester
  • 4-Hydroxybenzoic acid ethyl ester
  • 4-hydroxybenzoic acid-ethyl ester
  • Aseptin A
  • Aseptine a
  • Aseptoform E
  • Benzoic acid, 4-hydroxy-, ethyl ester
  • Benzoic acid, p-hydroxy-, ethyl ester
  • Bonomold OE
  • BRN 1101972
  • Carbethoxyphenol
  • CAS-120-47-8
  • Caswell No. 447
  • E 214
  • Easeptol
  • EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 061202
  • Ester etylowykwasu p-hydroksybenzoesowego
  • ETHYL 4-HYDROXYBENZOATE
  • Ethyl butex
  • Ethyl chemosept
  • Ethyl hydroxybenzoate
  • Ethyl p-hydroxbenzoate
  • Ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate
  • Ethyl p-oxybenzoate
  • Ethyl para-hydroxybenzoate
  • Ethyl paraben
  • Ethyl parahydroxybenzoate
  • Ethyl parahydroxybenzoate e214
  • Ethyl parasept
  • Ethyl-4-hydroxybenzoate
  • Ethyl-p-hydroxybenzoate
  • ethyl-paraben
  • Ethylester kyseliny p-hydroxybenzoove
  • Ethylis hydroxybenzoas
  • Ethylparaben
  • Ethylparaben (NF)
  • Ethylparaben (Standard)
  • HSDB 938
  • HYDROXYBENZOATES, PARA-
  • Ins no.214
  • Ins-214
  • Mekkings E
  • Methyldopa Impurity 1
  • Mycocten
  • Napagin A
  • Nipagin A
  • Nipagina A
  • Nipazin A
  • p-Carbethoxyphenol
  • p-Hydroxybenzoate ethyl ester
  • p-Hydroxybenzoic acid ethyl ester
  • p-Hydroxybenzoic ethyl ester
  • p-Oxybenzoesaeureaethylester
  • Para-hydroxybenzoic acid ethyl ester
  • Sobrol A
  • Solbrol A
  • Tegosept E
  • WLN: QR DVO2

Systematic names

  • Ethyl 4-hydroxybenzoate

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

  • gsfa 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-para-hydroxybenzoate.json