Vitamin A

CAS 68-26-8

Vitamin A is added to margarine, milk, and infant and fortified foods. As an additive it is usually retinyl palmitate or acetate rather than retinol itself, because the esters keep better.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Vitamin A by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 184.1930retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

What it is made from

Made by chemical synthesis for fortification use, though vitamin A also occurs naturally in fish liver oils and dairy fat. Preparations are commonly stabilised in a gelatin matrix, which is a dietary question about the preparation rather than the vitamin.

  • 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.

CAS registry number
68-26-8
InChIKey
FPIPGXGPPPQFEQ-OVSJKPMPSA-N
PubChem
CID 445354

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 68-26-8

As it appears in regulation

  • Vitamin A

Other names

  • 3,7-Dimethyl-9-(2,6, 6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-2,4,6,8-nonatetraen-1-ol
  • 3,7-dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexenyl)-nona-2,4,6,8-tetraen-1-ol
  • Agoncal
  • All Trans Retinol
  • All-trans retinol
  • all-trans-Retinol
  • all-trans-Vitamin A
  • Alphalin
  • Anti Wrinkle Eye Cream
  • Anti-aging cream
  • Antixerophthalmisches Vitamin
  • Apostavit
  • Axerophthol
  • Axerophtholum
  • Bean Moisturizing
  • Bentavit A
  • Chocola A
  • CVC Retinol collagen
  • Epiteliol
  • Firming Cream
  • G2SH0XKK91
  • Highy-Stable
  • Homagenets Aoral
  • LANIMPRESS Anti-aging cream
  • LANIMPRESS Dark Anti-aging cream
  • Moisturizing Anti-Aging Cream
  • Neck Firming
  • Nepalm
  • Pure Retinol
  • Recovery Cream
  • RerinolCream
  • retinol
  • Retinol cream for face moisturizer face cream
  • RETINOL VITAMIN E
  • Retinol, all trans-
  • Retinolo
  • Retinolum
  • retinolum densatum oleosum
  • RETOL
  • Ro-a-vit
  • Sehkraft A
  • Super A
  • Surfree Firming
  • Testavol S
  • trans-retinol
  • Ultra Brightening Fade
  • Veroftal
  • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin A 1
  • Vitamin A1
  • Vitamine A
  • Vitaminum A
  • Vitpex
  • Vogan
  • Wachstumsvitamin

Systematic names

  • (2E,4E,6E,8E)-3,7-dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexenyl)nona-2,4,6,8-tetraen-1-ol
  • (2E,4E,6E,8E)-3,7-dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-1-en-1-yl)nona-2,4,6,8-tetraen-1-ol
  • (2E,4E,6E,8E)-3,7-dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexen-1-yl)nona-2,4,6,8-tetraen-1-ol
  • (all-E)-3,7-Dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-2,4,6,8-nonatetraen-1-ol
  • 3,7-Dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-2,4,6,8-nonatetraen-1-ol, (all-E)-

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 by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • ecfr retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/vitamin-a.json