Lanolin
LanolinCAS 8020-84-6
Lanolin is the grease that coats sheep's wool, refined into a wax. In food it appears as a chewing gum base component and as the starting material for vitamin D3.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | No 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. | ||
| Canada | Permitted | no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) In: Chewing gum. Purpose: Plasticizing agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. | Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item L.3retrieved 2026-10-17 |
| European Union | No 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 Britain | No 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. | ||
| Japan | No listing matchedThis site imports only Japan’s list of designated additives (Appended Table 1 to the Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act), matched by English name. Existing additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives are permitted outside that list and are not imported, so an empty row does not show that Japan does not permit the substance. | ||
| South Korea | No listing matchedThis site imports Part III of South Korea’s Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, matched by CAS number, then INS number, then exact name. Mixed preparations and sanitisers are not imported, and an entry whose identifiers disagreed with a page’s is held for review, so an empty row does not show that South Korea does not permit the substance. | ||
| United States | Permitted, with conditions | Named in 21 CFR 172.615(a) among the plasticizing materials (softeners) that chewing gum base may consist of. The section is held on this site as the page chewing-gum-base; read it for the specifications and limitations. | 21 CFR 172.615retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| Codex Alimentarius | Not 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.
| Canada | — | 1 GMP |
|---|---|---|
| United States | — | 1 no quantity stated |
No regulator sets a figure for Lanolin. 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
Recovered from the water used to scour raw wool, then refined. It is an animal product, though it is taken from the fleece rather than the animal.
- Not vegan
- Vegetarian
- May raise a kosher question
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 8020-84-6
Every name it appears under
1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.
Other names
- Lanolin
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 Lanolin?
- Lanolin is the grease that coats sheep's wool, refined into a wax. In food it appears as a chewing gum base component and as the starting material for vitamin D3.
- Is Lanolin banned in Europe?
- No. Lanolin does not appear on the EU's list of authorised food additives, which is not the same as being banned: the EU permits an additive only where it has authorised it, and usually the reason for an absence is that no one applied. The EU has made no finding against this substance. It does mean it may not be used as a food additive in the EU today.
- Where is Lanolin permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada 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 Lanolin vegan?
- No. Lanolin is animal-derived, though it is generally accepted as vegetarian. This page says what it is made from.
Sources for this page
- ca retrieved 2026-10-17
- us-listings retrieved 2026-10-18
Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.
Machine-readable: a JSON record of this additive is given on request —how to ask for access.
Follow changes to Lanolin:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.