What is Petrolatum used for in food?

It is listed as a lubricant or release agent — the role Canada and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.

Is Petrolatum banned in Europe?

No. Petrolatum 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 Petrolatum permitted?

Of the seven regulators this site reads, Australia and New Zealand, 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.

Yes. Petrolatum is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Petrolatum

CAS 8009-03-8

Listed as a lubricant or release agent by Canada and the US.

Listed as lubricants and release agents (CA, US) · glazing and surface-finishing agents (CA) · surface-active agents (US) · solvents and vehicles (US)

Canada: Release agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8)
United States: Lubricant or release agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: PETROLATUM
Canada: Glazing agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Glazing Agents (List 7)
United States: Surface-active agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: PETROLATUM
United States: Solvent or vehicle — FDA, Substances Added to Food: PETROLATUM

Petrolatum — petroleum jelly — is a release agent and protective coating, used on confectionery, baked goods and fresh produce.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Petrolatum by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
Jurisdiction	Status	Scope and limits	Citation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New Zealand	Permitted, with conditions	54 food categories no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) Show every food category 0 Preparations of food additives — GMP 1.1.1 Liquid milk (including buttermilk) — GMPOnly UHT goats milk. 1.1.2 Liquid milk products and flavoured liquid milk — GMP 1.2.2 Fermented milk products and rennetted milk products — GMP 1.3 Condensed milk and evaporated milk — GMP 1.4.1 Cream, reduced cream and light cream — GMPOnly UHT creams and creams receiving equivalent or greater heat treatments. 1.4.2 Cream products (flavoured, whipped, thickened, sour cream etc) — GMP 1.5 Dried milk, milk powder, cream powder — GMP 1.6 Cheese and cheese products — GMP 10.2 Liquid egg products — GMP 10.3 Frozen egg products — GMP 10.4 Dried or heat coagulated egg products — GMP 11.1.1 Rainbow sugar — GMP 11.3.1 Dried honey — GMP 11.4 Tabletop sweeteners — GMP 12.1.2 Reduced sodium salt mixture — GMP 12.1.3 Salt substitute — GMP 12.5 Yeast and yeast products — GMP 12.6 Vegetable protein products — GMP 13.3 Formulated meal replacements and formulated supplementary foods — GMP 13.4 Formulated supplementary sports foods — GMP 13.5 Food for special medical purposes — GMP 14.1.1.2 Carbonated, mineralised and soda waters — GMP 14.1.2.1 Fruit and vegetable juices — GMPFor juice separated by other than mechanical means only. 14.1.2.2 Fruit and vegetable juice products — GMP 14.1.3 Water based flavoured drinks — GMP 14.1.4 Formulated Beverages — GMP 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions and similar products — GMP 14.2.3 Wine based drinks and reduced alcohol wines — GMP 14.2.4.1 Fruit wine products and vegetable wine products — GMP 14.2.5 Spirits and liqueurs — GMP 14.3 Alcoholic beverages not included in item 14.2 — GMP 2.1 Edible oils essentially free of water — GMP 2.2.1.2 Butter products — GMP 2.2.1.3 Margarine and similar products — GMP 2.2.2 Oil emulsions (<80% oil) — GMP 20 Foods not included in items 0 to 14 — GMP 3 Ice cream and edible ices — GMP 4.1.3 Fruits and vegetables that are peeled, cut, or both peeled and cut — GMP 4.3 Processed fruits and vegetables — GMP 5.1 Chocolate and cocoa products — GMP 5.2 Sugar confectionery — GMP 5.4 Icings and frostings — GMP 6.3 Processed cereal and meal products — GMP 6.4 Flour products (including noodles and pasta) — GMP 7 Breads and bakery products — GMP 8.2 Processed meat, poultry and game products in whole cuts or pieces — GMP 8.3 Processed comminuted meat, poultry and game products, other than products listed in item 8.3.2 — GMP 8.3.2 Sausage and sausage meat containing raw, unprocessed meat — GMP 8.4 Edible casings — GMP 8.5 Animal protein products — GMP 9.2 Processed fish and fish products — GMP 9.3 Semi preserved fish and fish products — GMP 9.4 Fully preserved fish including canned fish products — GMP	Food Standards Code, Schedule 15, S15—5and 53 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17
CanadaHealth Canada	Permitted, with conditions	highest permitted level 3,000 mg/kg 3 permitted uses Show every permitted use In: Unstandardized confectionery. Purpose: Glazing agent. Limit: 1,500 ppm. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Glazing Agents (List 7), item P.1 In: Bakery products. Purpose: Release agent. Limit: If used singly, the amount not to exceed 1,500 ppm. If used in combination with mineral oil, the total combined amount not to exceed 1,500 ppm. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0073. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item P.3(a) In: Fresh fruits and vegetables. Purpose: Coating agent. Limit: 3,000 ppm. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0073. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item P.3(b)	Health Canadaand 2 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSA	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 BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards Scotland	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.
JapanConsumer Affairs Agency	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 KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug Safety	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 StatesFood and Drug Administration	Permitted, with conditions		21 CFR 172.880retrieved 2026-10-17
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFA	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.

Australia and New Zealand	—	54 GMP
Canada	1,500 mg/kg – 3,000 mg/kg	2 numeric limit, 1 no quantity stated
United States	—	1 no quantity stated

What it is made from

Refined from the heavy residue of petroleum distillation to a food grade with the aromatic fraction removed.

Vegan
Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number: 8009-03-8

How JECFA defines it

The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.

INS 905b Petroleum Jelly

A purified mixture of semi-solid, saturated hydrocarbons, mainly of paraffinic nature, obtained from petroleum. It may contain antioxidants approved for food use.

Synonyms: Vaseline, Petrolatum, INS No. 905b Petrolatum; Vaseline

Assay, identification and purity criteria

Description and assay

Specification history: Prepared at the 51st JECFA (1998), published in FNP 52 Add 6 (1998) superseding specifications prepared at the 49th JECFA (1997) published in FNP 52 Add 5 (1997). No ADI allocated at the 33rd JECFA in 1988.
DESCRIPTION: White to yellowish or light amber semisolid substance. It is transparent in thin layers and has not more than a slight fluorescence.
FUNCTIONAL USES: Lubricant, release agent, protective coating, antifoaming agent.

Identification

Solubility (Vol. 4): Insoluble in water; very soluble in carbon disulfide; soluble in ether and hexane
Drop melting point: Between 38 and 60 o See description under TESTS
Infrared absorption: The infrared absorption spectrum, obtained by spreading a thin film of the melted sample between sodium chloride plates, exhibits high intensity bands between 3000 cm -1 and 2800 cm -1 , medium intensity bands between 1500 cm -1 and 1300 cm -1 , and low intensity bands between 750 cm -1 and 700 cm -1 .
Drop melting point: (ASTM D 127 Adapted, with permission, from the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, copyright American Society for Testing and Materials, 100 Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. Copies of the complete ASTM standard may be purchased direct from ASTM, phone: 610-832-9585, fax: 610-832-9555, e-mail: service@astm.org, website: http://www.astm.org ) Apparatus Test tubes: Standard test tubes, 25 mm in outside diameter and 150 mm long. The test tubes shall be supplied with corks grooved at the sides to permit air circulation and bored in exact center to receive the thermometer. Bath: A transparent container of not less than 1500 ml capacity, that will permit the immersion of the test tubes to a depth of at least 100 mm and still leave a depth of 15 mm of water below the bottoms of the test tubes. Test thermometer: ASTM 61C or equivalent Bath thermometer: Any suitable type, accurate to 0.5° throughout the required range. Procedure Melt the sample slowly until the temperature reaches 93°. Place sufficient sample in a flat bottom container to give a sample depth of 12 ± 1 mm. Adjust the temperature to 6 to 11° above its drop melting point using any general laboratory thermometer for measurement. Chill one of the test thermometer bulbs to 4°. Wipe, dry and, quickly but carefully, immerse the chilled bulb vertically into the container (12 mm submerged) and withdraw it immediately. Hold the thermometer vertically away from the heat until the surface dulls and then place it for 5 min in water having a temperature of 16°. Prepare another specimen from the same sample using this procedure. Securely fix the thermometers in the test tubes by means of corks so that the tip of each thermometer is 15 mm above the bottom of its test tube. Insert the test tubes in the water bath which is at 16° and adjust the height of the test tubes so that the immersion marks on the thermometers are level with the top surface of the water. Raise the temperature of the bath at a rate of 1.7°/min to 38°, then at a rate of 1°/min until the first drop of material leaves each thermometer. Record in each case the temperature at which the first drop falls from the thermometer. Calculate the average of the two temperatures.
Carbon number at 5% distillation point: (ASTM D 2887 See TEST for Drop melting point for Copyright permission) Carbon number is the number of carbon atoms in a molecule. Determine the boiling point distribution of the sample by gas chromatography using the following conditions: Detector: FID Column: material: glass length: 10 m. inside diameter: 0.53 mm liquid phase: HT SIMDIST CB Chrompack 10, 0.17 μm film thickness or equivalent Sample size: 1μl Temperature program: 70 ° - 200 ° , rate 25 ° / min. 200 ° - 325 ° , rate 12 ° min. 325 ° - 425 ° , rate 8 ° /min. 425 ° 15 min. isotherm Detector temperature: 430 ° C Carrier gas: hydrogen, 0.5 psi Make up gas: nitrogen 25ml/min Linearity standard: Prepare a weighed mixture of n-paraffins covering the range between C15 to as a minimum C60 and dissolve the mixture in cyclohexane. It is not necessary to include every n-paraffin in this mixture, however it has to contain C16, C60 and at least one of every fourth n-paraffin. Check of Solvent blank: Inject 1μl of the solvent. No peaks must be detected within the retention time range over which the wax elute. Column resolution: Inject 1μl of a solution of 0.05% each of n-C20 and n-C24 in cyclohexane. The column resolution R must not be less than 30 as calculated by the following equation: where d is the distance in mm between the peak maxima of n-C20 and n-C24 W1 is the peak with in mm of half height of n-C20 W2 is the peak with in mm of half height of n-C24 Linearity: Analyze the linearity standard. The calculated mass response factors relative to hexadecane must be between 0.90 and 1.10. Procedure: Weigh 20 mg of the sample into a suitable glass vial and dissolve in 20 ml of cyclohexane. Agitate the vial until the wax is dissolved, using gentle heating if necessary. The solution should be clear when injected. Inject 1.0 μl of the sample solution and integrate using a vertical drop to a horizontal baseline construction (Figure 1). Peaks resulting from the solvent and peaks with areas below 0.1% are not included in the calculation. For calculating and integration the common base line ends at the last C-normal peak with an area of 0.1%. Calculation: By definition: The non-normal hydrocarbon is followed by the normal hydrocarbon of the same carbon number. Calculate the content of hydrocarbons of each carbon number, using the following equation: where Ci is the content in % of components heaving a carbon number of i Ai is the combined peak areas of components having a carbon number of i AT is the total peak area
Average molecular weight (ASTM D 2502 See TEST for Drop melting point for Copyright permission): Using the carbon number distribution obtained in the test for "Carbon number at 5% distillation point" calculate the average molecular weight by the following formula: Average molecular weight = where i is the carbon number Ci is the content in % of components having a carbon number of i. Figure 1 Carbon Number Summation (Vertical Drop to Horizontal Baseline)

Purity criteria

Viscosity, 100 o (Vol. 4): 2 Between 3 and 20 mm /s
Carbon number at 5% distillation point: Not more than 5% of molecules with carbon number less than 18 See description under TESTS
Average molecular weight Between 350 and 650: See description under TESTS
Residue on ignition: Not more than 0.05% Accurately weigh about 4 g of the sample in a tared porcelain or platinum dish and heat over a flame. The sample volatiles without emitting any acrid odour. Ignite until free from carbon, without exceeding very dull redness. Cool in a desiccator and weigh.
Colour: Melt about 10 g of the sample on a steam bath, and pour about 5 ml of the liquid into a 150 x 16-mm clear-glass bacteriological test tube, keeping the sample melted. The petrolatum is not darker than a solution made by mixing 3.8 ml of ferric chloride TS and 1.2 ml of cobaltous chloride TS in a similar tube, the comparison of the two being made in reflected light against a white background, holding the sample tube directly against the background at such an angle that there is no fluorescence.
Acidity or alkalinity: To 10 g of the sample add 20 ml of boiling water and shake vigorously for one minute. Allow to cool and decant. To 10 ml of the aqueous layer add 0.1 ml of 1 to 10 solution of phenolphthalein TS. The solution is colourless. Not more than 0.5 ml of 0.01 N sodium hydroxide is required to change colour of the indicator to red.
Sulfur: To 4.0 g add 2 ml of absolute alcohol and 2 drops of a 1 in 5 solution of sodium hydroxide previously saturated with lead monoxide, warm the mixture at about 70° for 1 min with frequently shaking and allow to cool. No dark colour is produced.
Readily carbonizable substances: Use a clean, dry, ground-glass-stoppered test tube about 125 mm long and 18 mm in internal diameter, graduated at the 5- and 10-ml liquid levels. Place 5 ml of the melted sample in the test tube and add 5 ml of sulfuric acid. Insert the stopper and shake vigorously, in the longitudinal direction of the test tube, for 5 sec. Loosen the stopper, immediately place the tube in a waterbath, avoiding contact of the tube with the bottom or side of the bath, and heat for 10 min. After 2, 4, 6 and 8 min, remove the tube from the bath and shake, in the longitudinal direction of the test tube, for 5 sec. At the end of 10 min of heating, remove the tube from the waterbath and allow to stand for 10 min. Centrifuge at approximately 2000 g for 5 min: the lower layer is not more intensely coloured than a mixture of 0.5 ml of cupric sulfate TSC, 1.5 ml of cobaltous chloride TSC, 3.0 ml of ferric chloride TSC and 2 ml of 0.3 ml of 0.3 N hydrochloric acid.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Vol. 4): The sample shall meet the following ultraviolet absorbance when subjected to the analytical procedure as described in General methods nm max. absorbance /cm path length 280 - 289 0.15 290 - 299 0.12 300 - 359 0.08 360 - 400 0.02
Lead (Vol. 4): Not more than 2 mg/kg Determine using an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the method described in Volume 4, “Instrumental Methods.”

FAO JECFA Monograph 1 (2006)

Every name it appears under

1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.

As it appears in regulation

Petrolatum

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
Type	Value	Population	Assessed by	Opinion
ADI	not allocated	—	JECFA	1988

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 Petrolatum?: Petrolatum — petroleum jelly — is a release agent and protective coating, used on confectionery, baked goods and fresh produce.
What is Petrolatum used for in food?: It is listed as a lubricant or release agent — the role Canada and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is Petrolatum banned in Europe?: No. Petrolatum 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 Petrolatum permitted?: Of the seven regulators this site reads, Australia and New Zealand, 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 Petrolatum vegan?: Yes. Petrolatum is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Sources for this page

anz retrieved 2026-10-17
ca retrieved 2026-10-17
ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17
jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

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