Monoacetin

Chemical structure of Monoacetin, from PubChem compound 33510
Structure from PubChem CID 33510 (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.

Glycerol with a single acetyl group, used as a carrier solvent and humectant. It is the mono- counterpart of glycerol diacetate.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Monoacetin 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 ZealandPermitted

1 food category

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

Food Standards Code, Schedule 15, S15—5, item 0.3, Glyceryl monoacetateretrieved 2026-10-17
CanadaHealth CanadaPermitted

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

In: Unstandardized bakery products. Purpose: Plasticizing agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice.

Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item M.9retrieved 2026-10-17
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 AgencyNo 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 KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug SafetyNo 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 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 / 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.

Australia and New Zealand—1 GMP
Canada—1 GMP

No regulator sets a figure for Monoacetin. 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 glycerol with acetic acid, with the reaction stopped at the monoester.

InChIKey
KMZHZAAOEWVPSE-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 33510

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 106-61-6
  • 26446-35-5
  • 93713-40-7

Other names

  • (+-)-2,3-Dihydroxypropyl acetate
  • (.+/-.)-2,3-Dihydroxypropyl acetate
  • .alpha.-Monoacetin
  • 1,2,3,-Propanetriol monoacetate
  • 1,2,3-Propanetriol, 1-acetate
  • 1,2,3-Propanetriol, acetate
  • 1,2,3-propanetriol, mono acetate
  • 1,3-Propanetriol, 1-acetate
  • 1-Monoacetin
  • 2,3-Dihydroxypropyl acetate
  • acetic acid 2,3-dihydroxy-propyl ester
  • Acetic acid, monoglyceride
  • Acetin
  • ACETIN, 1-MONO-
  • Acetin, mono-
  • Acetoglyceride
  • acetyl glyceryl ether
  • Acetyl monoglyceride
  • alpha-Monoacetin
  • CCRIS 5881
  • EASTMAN 9-45
  • Glycerin monoacetate
  • Glycerine 1-acetate
  • glycerine acetate
  • Glycerine monoacetate
  • Glycerol .alpha.-monoacetate
  • Glycerol 1-acetate
  • Glycerol 1-Acetate (Technical grade)
  • Glycerol 1-monoacetate
  • Glycerol acetate
  • Glycerol alpha-monoacetate
  • Glycerol monoacetate
  • Glyceryl 1-acetate
  • Glyceryl 1-monoacetate
  • Glyceryl acetate
  • Glyceryl monoacetate
  • HSDB 4285
  • MAG 2:0
  • Monacetin
  • Mono-acetin
  • Monoacetin
  • Monoacetin-technical
  • Monoacetyl glycerine
  • WLN: Q1YQ1OV1

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 Monoacetin?
Glycerol with a single acetyl group, used as a carrier solvent and humectant. It is the mono- counterpart of glycerol diacetate.
Where is Monoacetin permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Australia and New Zealand and Canada permit it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.

Sources for this page

  • anz retrieved 2026-10-17
  • ca retrieved 2026-10-17

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.

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