What is Stearic acid used for in food?

It is listed as a lubricant or release agent — the role Canada and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.

Is Stearic acid banned in Europe?

No. Stearic acid 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 Stearic acid permitted?

Of the seven regulators this site reads, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, 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 Stearic acid vegan?

It depends on the source, and a label will not tell you. Stearic acid can be made from plant or animal material, manufacturers are not obliged to say which, and the same product can change between production runs. Anyone who needs to know has to ask the manufacturer.

Stearic acid

CAS 57-11-4

Listed as a lubricant or release agent by Canada and the US.

Listed as lubricants and release agents (CA, US) · emulsifiers (US) · antifoaming agents (CA) · flavouring agents and adjuvants (US) · formulation aids (US) · surface-active agents (US)

Canada: Release agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8)
Canada: Release agent and lubricant — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8)
United States: Lubricant or release agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: STEARIC ACID
United States: Emulsifier or emulsifier salt — FDA, Substances Added to Food: STEARIC ACID
Canada: Antifoaming agent — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8)
United States: Flavoring agent or adjuvant — FDA, Substances Added to Food: STEARIC ACID
United States: Flavoring agents and adjuvants — 21 CFR 184.1090, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(12)
United States: Formulation aid — FDA, Substances Added to Food: STEARIC ACID
United States: Surface-active agent — FDA, Substances Added to Food: STEARIC ACID

Structure from PubChem CID 5281 (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.

Stearic acid is a fatty acid used as a lubricant, release agent and flavouring, and as the starting point for a range of other additives.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Stearic acid 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	Permitted, with conditions	54 food categories no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) Show every food category 0 Preparations of food additives — GMP 1.1.1 Liquid milk (including buttermilk) — GMPOnly UHT goats milk. 1.1.2 Liquid milk products and flavoured liquid milk — GMP 1.2.2 Fermented milk products and rennetted milk products — GMP 1.3 Condensed milk and evaporated milk — GMP 1.4.1 Cream, reduced cream and light cream — GMPOnly UHT creams and creams receiving equivalent or greater heat treatments. 1.4.2 Cream products (flavoured, whipped, thickened, sour cream etc) — GMP 1.5 Dried milk, milk powder, cream powder — GMP 1.6 Cheese and cheese products — GMP 10.2 Liquid egg products — GMP 10.3 Frozen egg products — GMP 10.4 Dried or heat coagulated egg products — GMP 11.1.1 Rainbow sugar — GMP 11.3.1 Dried honey — GMP 11.4 Tabletop sweeteners — GMP 12.1.2 Reduced sodium salt mixture — GMP 12.1.3 Salt substitute — GMP 12.5 Yeast and yeast products — GMP 12.6 Vegetable protein products — GMP 13.3 Formulated meal replacements and formulated supplementary foods — GMP 13.4 Formulated supplementary sports foods — GMP 13.5 Food for special medical purposes — GMP 14.1.1.2 Carbonated, mineralised and soda waters — GMP 14.1.2.1 Fruit and vegetable juices — GMPFor juice separated by other than mechanical means only. 14.1.2.2 Fruit and vegetable juice products — GMP 14.1.3 Water based flavoured drinks — GMP 14.1.4 Formulated Beverages — GMP 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions and similar products — GMP 14.2.3 Wine based drinks and reduced alcohol wines — GMP 14.2.4.1 Fruit wine products and vegetable wine products — GMP 14.2.5 Spirits and liqueurs — GMP 14.3 Alcoholic beverages not included in item 14.2 — GMP 2.1 Edible oils essentially free of water — GMP 2.2.1.2 Butter products — GMP 2.2.1.3 Margarine and similar products — GMP 2.2.2 Oil emulsions (<80% oil) — GMP 20 Foods not included in items 0 to 14 — GMP 3 Ice cream and edible ices — GMP 4.1.3 Fruits and vegetables that are peeled, cut, or both peeled and cut — GMP 4.3 Processed fruits and vegetables — GMP 5.1 Chocolate and cocoa products — GMP 5.2 Sugar confectionery — GMP 5.4 Icings and frostings — GMP 6.3 Processed cereal and meal products — GMP 6.4 Flour products (including noodles and pasta) — GMP 7 Breads and bakery products — GMP 8.2 Processed meat, poultry and game products in whole cuts or pieces — GMP 8.3 Processed comminuted meat, poultry and game products, other than products listed in item 8.3.2 — GMP 8.3.2 Sausage and sausage meat containing raw, unprocessed meat — GMP 8.4 Edible casings — GMP 8.5 Animal protein products — GMP 9.2 Processed fish and fish products — GMP 9.3 Semi preserved fish and fish products — GMP 9.4 Fully preserved fish including canned fish products — GMP	Food Standards Code, Schedule 15, S15—5and 53 further provisionsretrieved 2026-10-17
CanadaHealth Canada	Permitted	no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice) 4 permitted uses Show every permitted use 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.32(a) In: Foods sold in tablet form. Purpose: Release agent and lubricant. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item S.32(b) In: Pre-cooked (instant) breakfast cereals. Purpose: Antifoaming agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. Amendment notices: NOM/ADM-0117. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item S.32(c) In: Unstandardized confectionery. Purpose: Release agent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8), item S.32(d)	Health Canada, List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Purposes of Use (List 8)and 3 further provisionsretrieved 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	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), 스테아린산 (“Stearic Acid”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 스테아린산: 제조용제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 스테아린산: (1) [to be used under the general standard for use in II. 2. 1), the minimum amount that achieves the technical effect, with no limit set for this additive in particular] “II. 2. 1)의 규정에 따라 사용하여야 한다.” 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 StatesFood and Drug Administration	Permitted		21 CFR 184.1090retrieved 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.

Australia and New Zealand	—	54 GMP
Canada	—	4 GMP
South Korea	—	1 no quantity stated
United States	—	1 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Stearic acid. 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

Obtained by splitting fats and oils. Vegetable fats such as palm oil and animal tallow are both used, and the finished acid is chemically identical either way — so the label cannot tell you which it was.

Vegan status depends on the source
Vegetarian status depends on the source
May raise a halal question
May raise a kosher question

This is not an omission. What this additive is made from is not fixed — depending on the manufacturer it may be plant, animal or microbial in origin, nobody is required to say which, and the same product can change source between production runs. Ask the manufacturer if it matters to you; a label cannot answer it.

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number: 57-11-4
InChIKey: QIQXTHQIDYTFRH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem: CID 5281

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

57-11-4

As it appears in regulation

Stearic acid

Other names

1-Heptadecanecarboxylic acid
Acidum stearinicul
Barolub FTA
Century 1210
Century 1240
Cetylacetic acid
Dar-chem 14
Emersol 120
Emersol 132
Emersol 150
F18:0
FEMA No. 3035
Formula 300
Glycon DP
Glycon S-70
Glycon S-80
Glycon S-90
Glycon TP
Groco 54
Groco 55
Groco 55L
Groco 58
Groco 59
Humko Industrene R
HY-Phi 1199
HY-Phi 1205
HY-Phi 1303
HY-Phi 1401
Hydrofol 1895
Hydrofol Acid 150
Hydrofol acid 1655
Hydrofol acid 1855
Hystrene 4516
Hystrene 5016
Hystrene 7018
Hystrene 80
Hystrene 9718
Industrene 5016
Industrene 8718
Industrene 9018
Industrene R
Kam 1000
Kam 2000
Kam 3000
n-Octadecanoic acid
NAA 173
Octadecanoic acid
Octadecansaeure
octadecoic acid
Pearl stearic
Stearex Beads
Stearic acid
Stearic acid 50
Stearic acid, pure
Stearinsaeure
Stearophanic acid
Tegostearic 254
Tegostearic 255
Tegostearic 272
Vanicol

Systematic names

octadecanoic acid

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 Stearic acid?: Stearic acid is a fatty acid used as a lubricant, release agent and flavouring, and as the starting point for a range of other additives.
What is Stearic acid used for in food?: It is listed as a lubricant or release agent — the role Canada and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is Stearic acid banned in Europe?: No. Stearic acid 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 Stearic acid permitted?: Of the seven regulators this site reads, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, 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 Stearic acid vegan?: It depends on the source, and a label will not tell you. Stearic acid can be made from plant or animal material, manufacturers are not obliged to say which, and the same product can change between production runs. Anyone who needs to know has to ask the manufacturer.

Sources for this page

anz retrieved 2026-10-17
ca retrieved 2026-10-17
kr retrieved 2026-10-18
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.

Follow changes to Stearic acid:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.