Iron, elemental

CAS 7439-89-6

Elemental iron is finely powdered metallic iron used to fortify breakfast cereals and flour. It is genuinely metal filings: crush the cereal in water and a magnet will pull the iron out, which is a real demonstration rather than a myth.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Iron, elemental 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 184.1375retrieved 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 reducing iron oxide with hydrogen or carbon monoxide, or by electrolysis, then milling to a fine powder. It causes no off-flavour, which is why it is used despite being absorbed less well than the soluble salts.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
7439-89-6
InChIKey
XEEYBQQBJWHFJM-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 23925

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 7439-89-6

As it appears in regulation

  • Iron, elemental

Other names

  • 3ZhP
  • Ancor B
  • Ancor en 80/150
  • Armco iron
  • Atomel 28
  • Atomel 300M200
  • Atomel 500M
  • Atomel 95
  • Atomiron 44MR
  • Atomiron 5M
  • Atomiron AFP 25
  • Atomiron AFP 5
  • ATW 230
  • ATW 432
  • Blood stop
  • Copy Powder CS 105-175
  • Diseases (animal), iron overload
  • Diseases, iron overload
  • DSP 1000
  • DSP 128B
  • DSP 135
  • DSP 135C
  • DSP 138
  • E1UOL152H7
  • EFV 200/300
  • EFV 250
  • EFV 250/400
  • Eisen
  • F 60 (metal)
  • Fe
  • Ferretts
  • ferrous iron
  • Ferrovac E
  • Ferrum metallicum
  • FT 3 (element)
  • HF 2 (element)
  • hierro
  • HL (iron)
  • Hoeganaes ATW 230
  • Hoeganaes EH
  • HQ (metal)
  • HS (iron)
  • IRON
  • Iron (Fe)
  • iron metal
  • Iron powder
  • Iron, elemental
  • LOHA
  • PZh-1M3
  • PZh-2
  • PZh1M1
  • PZh2M
  • PZh2M1
  • PZh2M2
  • PZh3
  • PZh3M
  • PZh4M
  • PZhO
  • Remko
  • SILVERDREAM POLARIS 60IL
  • SUY-B 2

Systematic names

  • Iron

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI1consumersEFSA PPR2024

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/iron-elemental.json