What is Sodium methyl sulfate used for in food?

It is listed as a firming agent — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.

Is Sodium methyl sulfate banned in Europe?

No. Sodium methyl sulfate 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 methyl sulfate permitted?

Of the seven regulators this site reads, 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 Sodium methyl sulfate vegan?

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

Sodium methyl sulfate

CAS 512-42-5

Listed as a firming agent by the US.

Listed as firming agents (US)

United States: Firming agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM METHYL SULFATE

Structure from PubChem CID 2735086 (National Library of Medicine, public domain). A depiction of one compound: where a listing covers a family, or a substance has no single structure, this page shows none.

Sodium methyl sulfate is a processing aid, arising in and permitted for use in certain manufacturing operations.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Sodium methyl sulfate 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	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.
CanadaHealth Canada	Permitted, with conditions	In: Pectin. Purpose: The result of methylation of pectin by sulfuric acid and methanol and neutralized by sodium bicarbonate. Limit: 1,000 ppm of pectin.	Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item S.16retrieved 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 173.385retrieved 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.

Canada	—	1 no quantity stated
United States	—	1 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Sodium methyl sulfate. 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

Produced by reacting methanol with sulfuric acid and neutralising.

Vegan
Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number: 512-42-5
InChIKey: DZXBHDRHRFLQCJ-UHFFFAOYSA-M
PubChem: CID 2735086

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

512-42-5

As it appears in regulation

Sodium methyl sulfate

Other names

CAS-512-42-5
MeOSO3Na
Methanesulfuric Acid Sodium Salt
Methyl sodium sulfate
Methyl sulfate, sodium salt
Methylsulfuric Acid Sodium Salt
Salicylic Acid Impurity 8
Sodium methyl sulfate
Sodium Methyl Sulfate(Discontinued,See C4X-19028)
Sodium methyl sulphate
Sodium methylsulfate
Sodium monometh
Sodium monomethylsulfate
SULFURIC ACID, MONOMETHYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT
Sulfuric acid, monomethyl ester, sodium salt (1:1)

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 methyl sulfate?: Sodium methyl sulfate is a processing aid, arising in and permitted for use in certain manufacturing operations.
What is Sodium methyl sulfate used for in food?: It is listed as a firming agent — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is Sodium methyl sulfate banned in Europe?: No. Sodium methyl sulfate 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 methyl sulfate permitted?: Of the seven regulators this site reads, 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 Sodium methyl sulfate vegan?: Yes. Sodium methyl sulfate 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
ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17

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.

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