Sodium percarbonate
15630-89-4 · ASPEN FOOT PATROL · CARBONIC ACID DISODIUM SALT, COMPOUND WITH HYDROGEN PEROXIDE (2:3) · DISODIUM CARBONATE SESQUIPEROXIDE · Disodium carbonate, compound with hydrogen peroxide (2:3) · Disodium carbonate, hydrogen peroxide (2:3) · FB Sodium percarbonate · HOOF CARE · HSDB 8161 · HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, COMPOUND WITH DISODIUM CARBONATE (3:2) · Oxyper · Percarbonate · Perdox · PEROXODICARBONATE DISODIUM · Peroxy sodium carbonate · Sodium carbonate peroxide · Sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate · Sodium carbonate--hydrogen peroxide (4/2/3) · Sodium percarbonate · Sodium Percarbonate(SPC) · Sodium percarbonate, avail. H2O2 20-30 % · Sodium percarbonate, CP · SODIUM PERCARBONATES · tetrasodium;hydrogen peroxide;dicarbonateCAS 15630-89-4
Listed as a preservative and an oxidising or reducing agent by the US.
Listed as preservatives (US) · oxidising and reducing agents (US)
- United States: Antimicrobial agents — 21 CFR 184.1366, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(2)
- United States: Oxidizing and reducing agents — 21 CFR 184.1366, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(22)
Sodium percarbonate releases hydrogen peroxide in water. JECFA specifies it as a component of the lactoperoxidase system used to preserve raw milk where refrigeration is not available, not as an additive to a finished food.
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 | No listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here. | ||
| 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 | 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 Korea | 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 States | Permitted | Named in 21 CFR 184.1366, the hydrogen peroxide section, where the table of uses says that for beef feet, as a bleaching agent, the hydrogen peroxide "may be in the form of a compound salt, sodium carbonate peroxide". …Named in 21 CFR 184.1366, the hydrogen peroxide section, where the table of uses says that for beef feet, as a bleaching agent, the hydrogen peroxide "may be in the form of a compound salt, sodium carbonate peroxide". Only that use names it. The section is held on this site as the page hydrogen-peroxide; read it for the conditions. | 21 CFR 184.1366retrieved 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.
| United States | — | 1 no quantity stated |
|---|
No regulator sets a figure for Sodium percarbonate. 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 reacting sodium carbonate with hydrogen peroxide. It is a powerful oxidant and is handled accordingly.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 15630-89-4
- InChIKey
- MSLRPWGRFCKNIZ-UHFFFAOYSA-J
- PubChem
- CID 159762
How JECFA defines it
The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.
Sodium Percarbonate
Synonyms: Sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate, sodium carbonate peroxide. Sodium carbonate peroxide; Sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Specification history
- Prepared at the 35th JECFA (1989), published in FNP 49 (1990) and in FNP 52 (1992). Metals and arsenic specifications revised at the 63rd JECFA (2004). Not hazardous as component of Lactoperoxidase milk preservation system 35th JECFA (1989)
- Chemical names
- Sodium percarbonate
- C.A.S. number
- 15630-89-4
- Chemical formula
- 2Na 2 CO 3 · 3H 2 O 2
- Formula weight
- 314.0
- Assay
- Not less than 13% available oxygen (equivalent to 85% purity)
- DESCRIPTION
- Fine, dry, white crystalline powder Caution: powerful oxidant, avoid contact with eyes and skin.
- FUNCTIONAL USES
- Antimicrobial synergist (Component of lactoperoxidase/thiocyanate/peroxide antimicrobial raw milk preservation system)
- METHOD OF ASSAY
- Using a measuring cylinder, carefully add 100 ml of sulphuric acid solution (3.6 N) to a 600-ml beaker. Weigh accurately about 4 g of sample on to a tared watchglass. Let the weight of sample be W g. Place the watchglass in the beaker, cover the beaker with a clockglass and swirl to dissolve the sample. Transfer the solution to a 500 ml volumetric flask. Rinse the clockglass and the wall of the beaker with demineralised water and add all the washings to the volumetric flask. Dilute to volume with demineralised water and mix well. Immediately titrate a portion of this solution as follows: Add 100 ml of sulphuric acid solution (3.6 N) to a 600 ml conical flask and add potassium permanganate solution (0.1 N) dropwise to the appearance of a faint permanent pink colour. Using a safety pipette, add 25.0 ml of sample solution and mix well. Titrate with potassium permanganate solution (0.1 N) to the reappearance of the faint permanent pink colour. Let the titration obtained be A ml. Calculate the available oxygen content of the sample (as O 2 ) by the formula: where N = the normality of the potassium permanganate solution
Identification
- Solubility (Vol. 4)
- Freely soluble in water; commercial product does not give a clear solution
- pH (Vol. 4)
- Approximately 10.5 (1% solution)
- Test for sodium (Vol. 4)
- Passes test
Purity criteria
- Lead (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 2 mg/kg Determine using an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the method described in Volume 4, “Instrumental Methods.”
Every name it appears under
24 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
CAS registry number
- 15630-89-4
Other names
- ASPEN FOOT PATROL
- CARBONIC ACID DISODIUM SALT, COMPOUND WITH HYDROGEN PEROXIDE (2:3)
- DISODIUM CARBONATE SESQUIPEROXIDE
- Disodium carbonate, compound with hydrogen peroxide (2:3)
- Disodium carbonate, hydrogen peroxide (2:3)
- FB Sodium percarbonate
- HOOF CARE
- HSDB 8161
- HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, COMPOUND WITH DISODIUM CARBONATE (3:2)
- Oxyper
- Percarbonate
- Perdox
- PEROXODICARBONATE DISODIUM
- Peroxy sodium carbonate
- Sodium carbonate peroxide
- Sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate
- Sodium carbonate--hydrogen peroxide (4/2/3)
- Sodium percarbonate
- Sodium Percarbonate(SPC)
- Sodium percarbonate, avail. H2O2 20-30 %
- Sodium percarbonate, CP
- SODIUM PERCARBONATES
- tetrasodium;hydrogen peroxide;dicarbonate
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 percarbonate?
- Sodium percarbonate releases hydrogen peroxide in water. JECFA specifies it as a component of the lactoperoxidase system used to preserve raw milk where refrigeration is not available, not as an additive to a finished food.
- What is Sodium percarbonate used for in food?
- It is listed as a preservative 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 percarbonate banned in Europe?
- No. Sodium percarbonate 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 percarbonate permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, the US permits 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 percarbonate vegan?
- Yes. Sodium percarbonate is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- us-listings retrieved 2026-10-18
- jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23
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