Nitrous oxide

INS 942CAS 10024-97-2

Used as an antioxidant — Codex also lists it as foaming, agent, packaging gas, propellant.

Nitrous oxide is the propellant in aerosol whipped cream. It is used rather than another gas because it dissolves in fat, so it expands through the cream as it leaves the can rather than blowing straight past it.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Nitrous oxide 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 184.1545retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

7 food categories

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

Show every food category
  • 01.2.1.2 Fermented milks (plain), heat-treated after fermentation — GMP
  • 01.4.2 Sterilized and UHT creams, whipping and whipped creams, and reduced fat creams (plain) — GMP
  • 04.1.1.3 Peeled or cut fresh fruit — GMP
  • 06.4.2 Dried pastas and noodles and like products — GMP
  • 09.1.2 Fresh molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP
  • 09.2.1 Frozen fish, fish fillets, and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP
  • 11.4 Other sugars and syrups (e.g. xylose, maple syrup, sugar toppings) — GMP
CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 942and 7 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Produced by controlled heating of ammonium nitrate.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
10024-97-2
InChIKey
GQPLMRYTRLFLPF-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 948

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E942

INS number

  • 942

CAS registry number

  • 10024-97-2
  • 100240-04-8
  • 97485-25-1

As it appears in regulation

  • Nitrous oxide

Other names

  • CCRIS 1225
  • diazooxidane
  • Diazyne 1-oxide
  • Diazyne 1-oxide #
  • Dinitrogen monoxide
  • Dinitrogen oxide
  • Dinitrogenii oxidum
  • Distickstoffmonoxid
  • Factitious air
  • FEMA 2779
  • FEMA No. 2779
  • Gas, Laughing
  • gaz hilarant
  • HSDB 504
  • Hyponitrous acid anhydride
  • INS NO.942
  • INS-942
  • Lachgas
  • Laughing gas
  • N-(2,3-dimethylphenyl)-3-piperidinamine ethanedioate
  • Nitrious oxide
  • Nitrogen hypoxide
  • Nitrogen oxide (n(sub 2)o)
  • Nitrogen oxide (N2O)
  • nitrogen protoxide
  • nitrogenium oxydulatum
  • Nitrogenum oxygenatum
  • nitrous oxide
  • Nitrous oxide (JP15/USP)
  • Nitrous oxide (JP18/USP)
  • Nitrous oxide (TN)
  • Nitrous Oxide Sedara
  • Nitrous oxide, compressed
  • Nitrous oxide, JAN, USAN
  • Nitrous oxide, refrigerated liquid
  • Nitrous Oxide, USP
  • Nitrous-15N2 oxide
  • NITROUS-OXIDE
  • Nitroux Oxide
  • NNO
  • Oxide, Nitrous
  • Oxido nitroso
  • oxidodinitrogen(N--N)
  • Oxo-1lambda~5~-diazyne
  • oxyde nitreux
  • Protoxide of nitrogen
  • protoxyde d'azote
  • Stickdioxyd
  • Stickstoff(I)-oxid

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

Sources for this page

  • ecfr retrieved 2026-09-07
  • gsfa 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/nitrous-oxide.json