Polyethylene glycol (mean molecular weight 200-9,500)

Polyethylene glycol is a coating, carrier and anti-foaming agent, used on tablets and confectionery and in flavour preparations.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Polyethylene glycol (mean molecular weight 200-9,500) 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 172.820retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

What it is made from

Produced by polymerising ethylene oxide. The chain length determines whether it is a liquid or a wax, which is why the listing specifies a molecular weight range.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Every name it appears under

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

As it appears in regulation

  • Polyethylene glycol (mean molecular weight 200-9,500)

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

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

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/polyethylene-glycol-mean-molecular-weight-200-9-500.json