Petroleum wax

E number E905INS 905c(i)CAS 63231-60-7

Used as an antifoaming agent — Codex also lists it as glazing agent.

Petroleum wax, sometimes labelled microcrystalline wax, is a glazing agent used on confectionery and cheese rinds and as a moisture barrier.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Petroleum wax by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted, with conditions21 CFR 172.886retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

5 food categories

highest permitted level 30,000 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.6.2.2 Rind of ripened cheese — 30,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.1.2 Surface-treated fresh fruit — 50 mg/kg
  • 04.2.1.2 Surface-treated fresh vegetables, (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds and nuts and seeds — 50 mg/kg
  • 05.2 Confectionery including hard and soft candy, nougats, etc. other than food categories 05.1, 05.3, and 05.4 — GMP
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 20,000 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 905c(i)and 4 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Refined from petroleum during lubricating oil production, then purified to food grade. It is not digested and passes through unchanged.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
63231-60-7

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E905

INS number

  • 905c(i)

CAS registry number

  • 63231-60-7

As it appears in regulation

  • Petroleum wax

Other names

  • E 905
  • Fischer-Tropsch wax
  • Hydrocarbon wax
  • Microcrystalline wax
  • Petroleum wax
  • Synthetic paraffin
  • Synthetic wax

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI20 mg/kg bwconsumersEFSAnot identified in the dataset

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/petroleum-wax.json