Papain

CAS 9001-73-4

Used as a flavour enhancer.

Papain is a protein-digesting enzyme from papaya, used as a meat tenderiser and to stop beer hazing when chilled. It is the active ingredient in most commercial meat tenderiser powders.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Papain 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 184.1585retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 1101(ii)retrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Collected as latex from scored unripe papaya fruit, Carica papaya, then dried and purified.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
9001-73-4

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 9001-73-4

As it appears in regulation

  • Papain

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/papain.json