Nickel
7440-02-0 · 8049-31-8 · Al alloy CRM for Nickel in 242, O 64x25 mm · Alcan 756 · Atomic Nickel · CCRIS 427 · Dietary Nickel · Element Nickel · Fibrex · Fibrex P · HSDB 1096 · Metallic nickel · Ni · NI 0901-S (harshaw) · niccolum · Niccolum metallicum · Nichel · NICKEL · NICKEL (III) ION · Nickel (Ni) · Nickel - Ni @ 1000 microg/g in Hydrocarbon Oil · Nickel - Ni @ 5000 microg/g in Hydrocarbon Oil · Nickel 200 · Nickel 201 · Nickel 205 · Nickel 207 · Nickel 270 · Nickel AA Standard: Ni @ 1000 microg/mL in 5% HNO3 · nickel atom · Nickel catalyst · Nickel foil · Nickel foil, 0.025mm (0.001in) thick, annealed · Nickel hydride · Nickel ion · Nickel ion(1+) · NICKEL METAL · Nickel on silica/alumina · Nickel particles · Nickel pellets · Nickel pieces · Nickel powder · Nickel rod · Nickel sponge · Nickel Standard · Nickel Standard: Ni @ 10 microg/mL in 2% HNO3 · Nickel Standard: Ni @ 1000 microg/mL in 5% HNO3 · Nickel Standard: Ni @ 10000 microg/mL in 5% HNO3 · Nickel tubing · Nickel wire · Nickel wire, 0.5mm (0.02in) dia, annealed · Nickel wire, 1.0mm (0.04in) dia, annealed · Nickel wire, 2.0mm (0.08in) dia, annealed · nickel(1+) · nickel(1+) ion · Nickel, elemental · Nickel, elemental/metal · Nickel, ion (Ni1+) · Nickel,Raney Nickel · niquel · NUZ5T2QN2V · Raney Nickel · RCH 55/5 · Nickel · NickelCAS 7440-02-0
Listed as a processing aid by the US.
Listed as processing aids (US)
- United States: Processing aid — FDA, Substances Added to Food: NICKEL
- United States: Processing aids — 21 CFR 184.1537, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(24)
Nickel is a hydrogenation catalyst, used to harden liquid oils into solid fats. It is a processing aid: the catalyst is filtered out of the fat after use.
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 | No 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 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 | Permitted, with conditions | Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 2. …Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 2. 가공보조제 (processing aids), 니켈 (“Nickel”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 니켈: 제조용제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 니켈: (1) “니켈은 아래의 식품에 한하여 경화공정 중 촉매 목적으로 사용 후 최종식품의 완성 전에 제거하여야 한다. 니켈의 잔류량은 1. 혼합식용유, 가공유지, 쇼트닝, 마가린류 : 1.0mg/kg 이하” 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 States | Permitted | 21 CFR 184.1537retrieved 2026-10-17 | |
| 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.
| South Korea | — | 1 no quantity stated |
|---|---|---|
| United States | — | 1 no quantity stated |
No regulator sets a figure for Nickel. 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
Refined from nickel ore and prepared as a finely divided catalyst, often on a support. Hydrogenation is the process that also produced trans fats, though that is a consequence of the reaction rather than of the nickel.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 7440-02-0
- InChIKey
- PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N
- PubChem
- CID 935
Every name it appears under
64 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
CAS registry number
- 7440-02-0
- 8049-31-8
As it appears in regulation
- Nickel
Other names
- Al alloy CRM for Nickel in 242, O 64x25 mm
- Alcan 756
- Atomic Nickel
- CCRIS 427
- Dietary Nickel
- Element Nickel
- Fibrex
- Fibrex P
- HSDB 1096
- Metallic nickel
- Ni
- NI 0901-S (harshaw)
- niccolum
- Niccolum metallicum
- Nichel
- NICKEL
- NICKEL (III) ION
- Nickel (Ni)
- Nickel - Ni @ 1000 microg/g in Hydrocarbon Oil
- Nickel - Ni @ 5000 microg/g in Hydrocarbon Oil
- Nickel 200
- Nickel 201
- Nickel 205
- Nickel 207
- Nickel 270
- Nickel AA Standard: Ni @ 1000 microg/mL in 5% HNO3
- nickel atom
- Nickel catalyst
- Nickel foil
- Nickel foil, 0.025mm (0.001in) thick, annealed
- Nickel hydride
- Nickel ion
- Nickel ion(1+)
- NICKEL METAL
- Nickel on silica/alumina
- Nickel particles
- Nickel pellets
- Nickel pieces
- Nickel powder
- Nickel rod
- Nickel sponge
- Nickel Standard
- Nickel Standard: Ni @ 10 microg/mL in 2% HNO3
- Nickel Standard: Ni @ 1000 microg/mL in 5% HNO3
- Nickel Standard: Ni @ 10000 microg/mL in 5% HNO3
- Nickel tubing
- Nickel wire
- Nickel wire, 0.5mm (0.02in) dia, annealed
- Nickel wire, 1.0mm (0.04in) dia, annealed
- Nickel wire, 2.0mm (0.08in) dia, annealed
- nickel(1+)
- nickel(1+) ion
- Nickel, elemental
- Nickel, elemental/metal
- Nickel, ion (Ni1+)
- Nickel,Raney Nickel
- niquel
- NUZ5T2QN2V
- Raney Nickel
- RCH 55/5
Systematic names
- Nickel
Hazard reference values
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 Nickel?
- Nickel is a hydrogenation catalyst, used to harden liquid oils into solid fats. It is a processing aid: the catalyst is filtered out of the fat after use.
- What is Nickel used for in food?
- It is listed as a processing aid — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Is Nickel banned in Europe?
- No. Nickel is not on the EU's list of authorised food additives, but it would not be expected to be: every role regulators give it — processing aid — the EU regulates under separate law. Its absence from the additives list says nothing about whether it is permitted in Europe.
- Where is Nickel permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, 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 Nickel vegan?
- Yes. Nickel is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- kr retrieved 2026-10-18
- ecfr 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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