Sodium stearate

CAS 822-16-2

Listed as an emulsifier, a thickener and a stabiliser by Canada and the US.

Listed as emulsifiers (CA, US) · thickeners (CA, US) · stabilisers (CA, US) · anticaking agents (US) · propellants and aerating agents (US) · formulation aids (US)
Chemical structure of Sodium stearate, from PubChem compound 2724691
Structure from PubChem CID 2724691 (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.

The sodium salt of stearic acid — the main constituent of ordinary soap — used in food as an emulsifier, stabiliser and anti-caking agent.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Sodium stearate by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New ZealandNo 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 CanadaPermitted

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

2 permitted uses

Show every permitted use
  • In: Fillings; Icings; Unstandardized bakery products; Unstandardized confectionery. Purpose: Emulsifying, stabilizing or thickening agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (List 4), item S.17
  • In: Chewing gum. Purpose: Plasticizing agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item S.25
Health Canadaand 1 further provisionretrieved 2026-10-17
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSANo 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 ScotlandNo 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 AgencyNo 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 SafetyNo 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 AdministrationPermitted, with conditions

Named in 21 CFR 172.615(a) among the plasticizing materials (softeners) that chewing gum base may consist of, as "sodium and potassium stearates" complying with 21 CFR 172.863. The section is held on this site as the page chewing-gum-base; read it for the specifications and limitations.

21 CFR 172.615retrieved 2026-10-18
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot 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—2 GMP
United States—1 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Sodium stearate. 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 neutralising stearic acid with sodium hydroxide. Stearic acid may be of vegetable or animal origin, which the listing does not settle.

CAS registry number
822-16-2
InChIKey
RYYKJJJTJZKILX-UHFFFAOYSA-M
PubChem
CID 2724691

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 822-16-2

Other names

  • Bonderlube 235
  • C18H35NaO2
  • E-470(I)STEARIC ACID, SODIUM SALT
  • Edenor FHTI
  • Flexichem B
  • HSDB 5759
  • INS NO.470(I)STEARIC ACID, SODIUM SALT
  • INS-470(I)STEARIC ACID, SODIUM SALT
  • Nonsoul sn 15
  • Octadecanoic acid sodium salt;Stearic acid sodium salt
  • Octadecanoic acid, sodium salt
  • Octadecanoic acid, sodium salt (1:1)
  • Prifer 1634
  • Prodhygine
  • Rhenogran nast 50acmf-ge1858
  • Sodium octadecanoate
  • Sodium palmitostearate
  • Sodium Stearate
  • Sodium stearate (NF)
  • Sodium Stearate(Powder/Granular)
  • Sodium stearate, pure
  • Sodiumstearate
  • stearate sodium
  • Stearic acid, sodium salt

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 stearate?
The sodium salt of stearic acid — the main constituent of ordinary soap — used in food as an emulsifier, stabiliser and anti-caking agent.
What is Sodium stearate used for in food?
It is listed as an emulsifier, a thickener and a stabiliser — the role Canada and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is Sodium stearate banned in Europe?
No. Sodium stearate 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 stearate 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.

Sources for this page

  • ca retrieved 2026-10-17
  • 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.

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