Sodium dihydrogen citrate

INS 331(i)

Used as an acidity regulator — Codex also lists it as emulsifier, emulsifying, salt, sequestrant, stabilizer.

Monosodium citrate is an acidity regulator and sequestrant, used in drinks, jams and dairy products where a milder buffering effect than the trisodium salt is wanted.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Sodium dihydrogen citrate by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
Jurisdiction	Status	Scope and limits	Citation
United StatesFood and Drug Administration	Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFA	Permitted, with conditions	23 food categories highest permitted level 5,000 mg/kg Show every food category 01.1.3 Fluid Buttermilk (plain) — GMP 01.2.1.2 Fermented milks (plain), heat-treated after fermentation — GMP 01.2.2 Renneted milk (plain) — GMP 01.4.1 Pasteurized cream (plain) — GMP 01.4.2 Sterilized and UHT creams, whipping and whipped creams, and reduced fat creams (plain) — GMP 01.8.2 Dried whey and whey products, excluding whey cheeses — GMP 02.1.1 Butter oil, anhydrous milkfat, ghee — GMP 02.1.2 Vegetable oils and fats — GMP 02.1.3 Lard, tallow, fish oil, and other animal fats — GMP 04.2.1.1 Untreated fresh vegetables, (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes (including soybeans), and aloe vera), seaweeds and nuts and seeds — GMP 04.2.2.1 Frozen vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds and nuts and seeds — GMP 08.1.1 Fresh meat, poultry and game, whole pieces or cuts — GMP 08.1.2 Fresh meat, poultry and game, comminuted — GMP 09.2 Processed fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP 10.2.1 Liquid egg products — GMP 10.2.2 Frozen egg products — GMP 11.4 Other sugars and syrups (e.g. xylose, maple syrup, sugar toppings) — GMP 12.1.2 Salt substitutes — GMP 13.1.1 Infant formulae — GMP 13.1.2 Follow-up formulae — GMP 13.1.3 Formulae for special medical purposes for infants — GMP 13.2 Complementary foods for infants and young children — 5,000 mg/kg 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions, and other hot cereal and grain beverages, excluding cocoa — GMP	CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 331(i)and 23 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

Every name it appears under

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

E number

E331I

INS number

331(i)

CAS registry number

18996-35-5

Other names

1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-, monosodium salt
1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-, sodium salt (1:1)
C6H7NaO7
Citric acid monosodium salt
mono sodium citrate
Monosodium citrate
Monosodium Citrate Anhydrous
sodium 3,4-dicarboxy-3-hydroxybutanoate
Sodium citrate monobasic
Sodium citrate monobasic, BioXtra, anhydrous, >=99.5% (T)
Sodium citrate monobasic, purum p.a., anhydrous, >=99.0% (T)
SODIUM DIHYDROGEN CITRATE
Sodium dihydrogencitrate
Sodium dihydrogencitrate, 99%
sodium,2-(carboxymethyl)-2,4-dihydroxy-4-oxobutanoate
sodium;2-(2-hydroxy-2-oxoethyl)-2,4-bis(oxidanyl)-4-oxidanylidene-butanoate
sodium;3-carboxy-3,5-dihydroxy-5-oxopentanoate

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.

Sodium dihydrogen citrate

Where it is and isn’t permitted

What it is made from

Every name it appears under

E number

INS number

CAS registry number

Other names

Hazard reference values

Evidence and how bodies read it

Sources for this page