Hydrochloric acid

E number E507INS 507CAS 7647-01-0

Used as an acidity regulator.

Hydrochloric acid is used as a processing aid and acidity regulator, chiefly to hydrolyse proteins and starches and to adjust pH during manufacture. It is generally neutralised before the food is finished.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Hydrochloric acid 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 182.1057retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

1 food category

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 507and 1 further provisionretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Produced industrially by combining hydrogen and chlorine, or as a by-product of organic chlorination. It is the same acid the stomach produces.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
7647-01-0
InChIKey
VEXZGXHMUGYJMC-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 313

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E507

INS number

  • 507

CAS registry number

  • 7647-01-0

As it appears in regulation

  • Hydrochloric acid

Other names

  • 4-D Bowl Sanitizer
  • Acid, Hydrochloric
  • Acid, Muriatic
  • Acide chlorhydrique
  • Acido clorhidrico
  • Acido cloridrico
  • Acidum hydrochloricum
  • Acidum Muriaticum
  • Anhydrous hydrochloric acid
  • Anhydrous hydrogen chloride
  • Aqueous hydrogen chloride
  • Baume hcl
  • Bowl Cleaner
  • Caswell No. 486
  • Chloorwaterstof
  • chlorane
  • chlorhydric acid
  • Chloride, Hydrogen
  • Chlorohydric acid
  • Chlorowodor
  • chlorure d'hydrogene
  • Chlorure d'hydrogene anhydre
  • Chloruro de hidrogeno
  • Chlorwasserstoff
  • cloruro de hidrogeno
  • Cloruro de hidrogeno anhidro
  • Deuterium-chloride
  • E 507
  • Emulsion Bowl Cleaner
  • Enplate po 236
  • EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 045901
  • Funoran
  • HCl
  • HEMMORHOIDS
  • HSDB 545
  • Hydrochloric acid
  • Hydrochloric acid gas
  • Hydrochloric acid, ACS reagent, 37%
  • Hydrochloric acid, anhydrous
  • hydrochloricacid
  • Hydrogen chloride
  • Hydrogen chloride (acid)
  • Hydrogen chloride (gas only)
  • Hydrogen chloride (HCl)
  • Hydrogen Chloride - Methanol Reagent
  • Hydrogenchlorid
  • Hygeia Creme Magic Bowl Cleaner
  • Icon etch
  • INS NO.507
  • INS-507
  • Marine acid
  • mono hydrochloride
  • monohydrochloride
  • Muriatic acid
  • Muriaticum acidum
  • Percleen Bowl and Urinal Cleaner
  • UN 1050 (anhydrous)
  • UN 2186 (refrigerated liquefied gas)
  • White Emulsion Bowl Cleaner

Systematic names

  • hydrogen chloride

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
  • 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/hydrochloric-acid.json