Sodium hypochlorite
7681-52-9 · 84 Disinfectant · Airocare · Antiformin · ANTIFORMIN, DENTAL · B-K liquid · Chloros · Chlorox · Cloralex · Cloropool · Clorox · Clorox liquid bleach · Daily Doctor Sterilization Plus · Dakins Full · Dakins half · Dakins quarter · Deosan · Deosan Green Label Steriliser · Di-Dak-Sol · Dispatch · DY38VHM5OD · EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 014703 · HANNA DISINFECTANTspray · Hospital Milton · Household bleach · Household Bleach Detox · Household Bleach Detox 6042 · Hyclorite · Hypochlorite sodium · Hypochlorous acid, sodium salt · Hypochlorous acid, sodium salt (1:1) · Hyposan and Voxsan · Hypure · Hypure N · Javelle water · Javex · Klorocin · Milton · Milton Crystals · Milton in emuls wax · Milton in liq paraf · Milton no.2 · NaClO · NaOCl · NaOClean E-Water · Natrum hypochlorosum · Neo-cleaner · Neoseptal CL · Neutral oxidation · Parozone · Purin B · QIAN BAO Disinfectant · Sodium Hypochlorite · Sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) · Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) · Sodium oxychloride · Sunnysol 150 · Surchlor · Texant · YouxiaolinCAS 7681-52-9
Listed as a flour treatment agent, a dough strengthener and an oxidising or reducing agent by the US.
Listed as flour treatment agents (US) · dough strengtheners (US) · oxidising and reducing agents (US) · starch-modifying agents (CA)
- United States: Flour treating agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE
- United States: Dough strengthener — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE
- United States: Oxidizing or reducing agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE
- Canada: Starch-modifying agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Starch-Modifying Agents (List 13)
Household bleach, used in food processing to sanitise water, equipment and produce, and in starch modification. It is a treatment agent, not an ingredient.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | 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. | ||
| Canada | Permitted | no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) In: Starch used in the manufacture of modified starch. Purpose: Starch-modifying agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. | Health Canada, List of Permitted Starch-Modifying Agents (List 13), item S.6retrieved 2026-10-17 |
| European Union | 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 Britain | 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. | ||
| Japan | Permitted, with conditions | Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 178, 次亜塩素酸ナトリウム（別名次亜塩素酸ソーダ） (“Sodium Hypochlorite (Hypochlorite of Soda)” in the unofficial English translation). …Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 178, 次亜塩素酸ナトリウム（別名次亜塩素酸ソーダ） (“Sodium Hypochlorite (Hypochlorite of Soda)” in the unofficial English translation). Standards for use — Specifications and Standards for Foods, Food Additives, etc. (MHW Notification No. 370 of 1959), Part II (Food Additives), F (Standards for use), entry 次亜塩素酸ナトリウム: (1) [must not be used in the foods stated] “次亜塩素酸ナトリウムは、ごまに使用してはならない。” The Japanese is the standard as published. There is no official English translation of the Notification; the English in square brackets is this site’s description of what each sentence does, not a translation of the foods or the levels. Compositional specifications for this additive, in the same Notification, are not imported and are not shown here; nor are the general rules in F 添加物一般, which apply to every additive. | Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act (MHW Ordinance No. 23 of 1948), Appended Table 1retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| South Korea | Permitted, with conditions | Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 2. …Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 2. 가공보조제 (processing aids), 차아염소산나트륨 (“Sodium Hypochlorite”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 차아염소산나트륨: 살균제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 차아염소산나트륨: (1) [must not be used in the food stated; and a further sentence this site does not describe] “차아염소산나트륨은 과일류, 채소류 등 식품의 살균 목적에 한하여 사용하여야 하며, 최종식품의 완성 전에 제거하여야 한다. 다만, 차아염소산나트륨은 참깨에 사용하여서는 아니 된다.” The Korean is the standard as published. There is no official English translation of the current Code (the English version on MFDS’s website is the 2020 edition and has no legal effect); the English in square brackets is this site’s description of what each sentence does, not a translation of the foods or the levels. Compositional specifications (Part IV) are not imported, nor are the general standards in Part II, which apply to every additive. | Standards and Specifications for Food Additives (식품첨가물의 기준 및 규격), MFDS Notification, Part III (Standards for use, by item)retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| United States | Permitted, with conditions | Named in 21 CFR 173.315(a)(2) among the substances that may be used to wash, or to assist in the peeling of, fruits and vegetables. The section is held on this site as the page chemicals-used-in-washing-or-to-assist-in-the-peeling-of-fruits-and-vegetables; read it for the conditions. | 21 CFR 173.315retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| Codex Alimentarius | 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.
| Canada | — | 1 GMP |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | — | 1 no quantity stated |
| South Korea | — | 1 no quantity stated |
| United States | — | 1 no quantity stated |
No regulator sets a figure for Sodium hypochlorite. That is not an absence of control: where the listing says quantum satis or good manufacturing practice, the quantity is limited to what the effect requires.
What it is made from
Made by passing chlorine into sodium hydroxide solution.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 7681-52-9
- InChIKey
- SUKJFIGYRHOWBL-UHFFFAOYSA-N
- PubChem
- CID 23665760
Every name it appears under
60 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
CAS registry number
- 7681-52-9
Other names
- 84 Disinfectant
- Airocare
- Antiformin
- ANTIFORMIN, DENTAL
- B-K liquid
- Chloros
- Chlorox
- Cloralex
- Cloropool
- Clorox
- Clorox liquid bleach
- Daily Doctor Sterilization Plus
- Dakins Full
- Dakins half
- Dakins quarter
- Deosan
- Deosan Green Label Steriliser
- Di-Dak-Sol
- Dispatch
- DY38VHM5OD
- EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 014703
- HANNA DISINFECTANTspray
- Hospital Milton
- Household bleach
- Household Bleach Detox
- Household Bleach Detox 6042
- Hyclorite
- Hypochlorite sodium
- Hypochlorous acid, sodium salt
- Hypochlorous acid, sodium salt (1:1)
- Hyposan and Voxsan
- Hypure
- Hypure N
- Javelle water
- Javex
- Klorocin
- Milton
- Milton Crystals
- Milton in emuls wax
- Milton in liq paraf
- Milton no.2
- NaClO
- NaOCl
- NaOClean E-Water
- Natrum hypochlorosum
- Neo-cleaner
- Neoseptal CL
- Neutral oxidation
- Parozone
- Purin B
- QIAN BAO Disinfectant
- Sodium Hypochlorite
- Sodium hypochlorite (NaClO)
- Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl)
- Sodium oxychloride
- Sunnysol 150
- Surchlor
- Texant
- Youxiaolin
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 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 Sodium hypochlorite?
- Household bleach, used in food processing to sanitise water, equipment and produce, and in starch modification. It is a treatment agent, not an ingredient.
- What is Sodium hypochlorite used for in food?
- It is listed as a flour treatment agent, a dough strengthener and an oxidising or reducing agent — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Is Sodium hypochlorite banned in Europe?
- No. Sodium hypochlorite 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 Sodium hypochlorite permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada, Japan, South Korea 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 Sodium hypochlorite vegan?
- Yes. Sodium hypochlorite is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- ca retrieved 2026-10-17
- jp retrieved 2026-10-18
- kr retrieved 2026-10-18
- us-listings retrieved 2026-10-18
Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.
Machine-readable: a JSON record of this additive is given on request —how to ask for access.
Follow changes to Sodium hypochlorite:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.