Isoamyl acetate

CAS 123-92-2

Listed as a flavouring agent by the US.

Listed as flavouring agents and adjuvants (US)
Chemical structure of Isoamyl acetate, from PubChem compound 31276
Structure from PubChem CID 31276 (National Library of Medicine, public domain). A depiction of one compound: where a listing covers a family, or a substance has no single structure, this page shows none.

Isoamyl acetate is a mixture of the acetic acid esters of pentanols, principally 3-methylbutyl ethanoate. It is used as a carrier solvent and as a flavouring agent, and has the fruit-like odour associated with banana and pear.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Isoamyl acetate by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New ZealandNo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
CanadaHealth CanadaNo listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here.
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSANo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
Great BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards ScotlandNo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
JapanConsumer Affairs AgencyPermitted, with conditions
Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 153, 酢酸イソアミル (“Isoamyl Acetate” in the unofficial English translation). …

Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 153, 酢酸イソアミル (“Isoamyl Acetate” in the unofficial English translation). Standards for use — Specifications and Standards for Foods, Food Additives, etc. (MHW Notification No. 370 of 1959), Part II (Food Additives), F (Standards for use), entry 酢酸イソアミル: (1) [may be used only for the purpose of flavouring] “酢酸イソアミルは、着香の目的以外に使用してはならない。” The Japanese is the standard as published. There is no official English translation of the Notification; the English in square brackets is this site’s description of what each sentence does, not a translation of the foods or the levels. Compositional specifications for this additive, in the same Notification, are not imported and are not shown here; nor are the general rules in F 添加物一般, which apply to every additive.

Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act (MHW Ordinance No. 23 of 1948), Appended Table 1retrieved 2026-10-18
South KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug SafetyPermitted, with conditions
Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 1. …

Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 1. 일반식품첨가물 (general food additives), 초산이소아밀 (“Isoamyl Acetate”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 초산이소아밀: 향료. Standard for use (사용기준) of 초산이소아밀: (1) [may be used only for flavouring] “초산이소아밀은 착향의 목적에 한하여 사용하여야 한다.” The Korean is the standard as published. There is no official English translation of the current Code (the English version on MFDS’s website is the 2020 edition and has no legal effect); the English in square brackets is this site’s description of what each sentence does, not a translation of the foods or the levels. Compositional specifications (Part IV) are not imported, nor are the general standards in Part II, which apply to every additive.

Standards and Specifications for Food Additives (식품첨가물의 기준 및 규격), MFDS Notification, Part III (Standards for use, by item)retrieved 2026-10-18
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted, with conditions

Named in the list of synthetic flavoring substances and adjuvants in 21 CFR 172.515(b), which may be safely used in food in the minimum quantity required to produce their intended effect. The section is held on this site as the page synthetic-flavoring-substances-and-adjuvants; read it for the conditions.

21 CFR 172.515retrieved 2026-10-18
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

How much is permitted

A listing usually limits the quantity as well as the food. Only one of the forms that takes is a figure: quantum satis and good manufacturing practice permit the amount the technological effect requires and no more, which is a limit rather than the absence of one. Figures below are the range across every food category this page is listed in, and categories differ between regulators — see how much is permitted.

Japan—1 no quantity stated
South Korea—1 no quantity stated
United States—1 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Isoamyl acetate. That is not an absence of control: where the listing says quantum satis or good manufacturing practice, the quantity is limited to what the effect requires.

What it is made from

Made by esterifying isoamyl alcohol with acetic acid.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number
123-92-2
InChIKey
MLFHJEHSLIIPHL-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 31276

How JECFA defines it

The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.

Isoamyl Acetate

Synonyms: Amyl acetate; Isoamyl ethanoate

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

Specification history
Prepared at the 49th JECFA (1997) , published in FNP 52 Add 5 (1997) superseding specifications prepared at the 46th JECFA (1996), published in FNP 52 Add 4 (1996) . Metals and arsenic specifications revised at the 63rd JECFA (2004). An ADI of 0-3 mg/kg bw was established at the 23rd JECFA (1979)
SYNONYMS DEFINITION Chemical name C.A.S. number Chemical formula Structural formula
Amyl acetate, isoamyl ethanoate A mixture of acetic acid esters of pentanols 3-Methylbutyl ethanoate (principal component) 123-92-2 C 7 H 14 O 2
Molecular weight Assay DESCRIPTION FUNCTIONAL USES Solubility (Vol. 4)
130.19 Not less than 95.0% C 7 H 14 O 2 Colourless, clear liquid, having a characteristic fruit-like odour Carrier solvent, flavouring agent (see “flavouring agents” monograph JECFA no. 43)) Slightly soluble in water, insoluble in glycerol, practically insoluble in propylene glycol, soluble in ethanol, diethyl ether, ethyl acetate, most fixed oils and mineral oils
METHOD OF ASSAY
Weigh accurately about 0.8 g of the sample and proceed as directed under Ester Determination (see Volume 4), using 65.10 as the equivalence factor (e) in the calculation.

Identification

Refractive index (Vol. 4) Specific gravity (Vol. 4) Acid value (Vol. 4) Non volatile residue (Vol. 4) Distillation range (Vol. 4)
n (20,D): 1.400-1.404 d (25,25): 0.868-0.878 Not more than 1 Not more than 7 mg/100 ml Not less than 99% v/v distils between 135 and 143º

Purity criteria

Lead (Vol. 4)
Not more than 2 mg/kg Determine using an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the method described in Volume 4, “Instrumental Methods.”

FAO JECFA Monograph 1 (2006)

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 123-92-2

Other names

  • .beta.-Methyl butyl acetate
  • 1-Butanol, 3-methyl-, 1-acetate
  • 1-Butanol, 3-methyl-, acetate
  • 2-Methylbutyl ethanoate
  • 3-Methyl butyl ester acetic acid
  • 3-Methyl-1-butanol 1-acetate
  • 3-Methyl-1-butanol acetate
  • 3-Methyl-1-butanyl acetate
  • 3-Methyl-1-butyl acetate
  • 3-methyl-but-1-yl acetate
  • 3-Methylbutyl acetate
  • 3-Methylbutyl ester of acetic acid
  • 3-Methylbutyl ethanoate
  • 4-02-00-00157 (Beilstein Handbook Reference)
  • acetate d'isoamyle
  • acetate d'isopentyle
  • acetate de 3-methylbutyle
  • Acetic acid 3-methyl-1-butyl ester
  • Acetic Acid 3-Methyl-Butyl Ester
  • Acetic acid 3-methylbutyl ester
  • Acetic Acid Isoamyl Ester
  • Acetic acid, isopentyl ester
  • Acetic acid-3-methyl butyl ester
  • acetic acid-3-methylbutyl ester
  • Amyl acetate
  • Amyl acetate ester
  • Amyl acetate, common
  • Amylacetic ester
  • beta-Methyl butyl acetate
  • beta-Methylbutyl acetate
  • BRN 1744750
  • CAS-123-92-2
  • CCRIS 6051
  • FEMA 2055
  • FEMA No. 2055
  • FEMA Number 2055
  • HSDB 1818
  • I-Amyl acetate
  • i-pentylacetate
  • In Commercial practice amyl invariably means isoamyl, unless it is prefaced by the n- for normal
  • Iso Amyl Acetate
  • Iso Pentyl Acetate
  • Iso-amyl acetate
  • Isoamyl acetate
  • Isoamyl acetate (natural)
  • Isoamyl alcohol acetate
  • Isoamyl ethanoate
  • Isoamylacetat
  • ISOAMYLACETATE
  • Isoamylester kyseliny octove
  • Isopentyl acetate
  • Isopentyl acetate, LR, >=95%
  • Isopentyl alcohol, acetate
  • Isopentyl ester acetic acid
  • Isopentyl ethanoate
  • isopentylacetate
  • Jargonelle pear essence (Salt/Mix)
  • QSPL 103
  • Tri Iso Amyl Acetate
  • WLN: 1Y1 & 2OV1

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 rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Common questions

Assembled from what is above, in the words the questions are usually asked in. Each answer is the same statement the relevant section makes, with the same citations behind it.

What is Isoamyl acetate?
Isoamyl acetate is a mixture of the acetic acid esters of pentanols, principally 3-methylbutyl ethanoate. It is used as a carrier solvent and as a flavouring agent, and has the fruit-like odour associated with banana and pear.
What is Isoamyl acetate used for in food?
It is listed as a flavouring agent — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is Isoamyl acetate banned in Europe?
No. Isoamyl acetate is not on the EU's list of authorised food additives, but it would not be expected to be: every role regulators give it — flavouring agent — the EU regulates under separate law. Its absence from the additives list says nothing about whether it is permitted in Europe.
Where is Isoamyl acetate permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Japan, South Korea and the US permit it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
Is Isoamyl acetate vegan?
Yes. Isoamyl acetate is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Sources for this page

  • jp retrieved 2026-10-18
  • kr retrieved 2026-10-18
  • us-listings retrieved 2026-10-18
  • jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23

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