Zinc oxide

CAS 1314-13-2

Listed as a colour and a nutrient supplement by the US.

Listed as colours (US) · nutrient supplements (US)
Chemical structure of Zinc oxide, from PubChem compound 3007857
Structure from PubChem CID 3007857 (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.

Zinc oxide is a zinc source used to fortify foods. Outside food, the same compound is used in mineral sunscreens and nappy creams.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Zinc oxide 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 CanadaNo 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 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 SafetyPermitted, with conditions
Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 3. …

Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 3. 영양강화제 (nutrient fortifiers), 산화아연; nutrient: 아연(Zn). Standard for use (사용기준) of 산화아연: (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 AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 182.8991retrieved 2026-10-17
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.

South Korea—1 no quantity stated
United States—1 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Zinc oxide. 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 burning zinc vapour in air, or by processing zinc ore.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number
1314-13-2
InChIKey
RNWHGQJWIACOKP-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 3007857

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 1314-13-2

As it appears in regulation

  • Zinc oxide

Other names

  • Abella
  • AfterSun
  • aloevella
  • AmeriDerm
  • Austalian Gold
  • BabyDiaperCream
  • BabySpa
  • bareMinerals
  • Becca
  • BioDCream
  • Bluevado Sunfix
  • Boogie Bottoms
  • Boudreauxs
  • Broad Spectrum
  • Buttiezzz Daily
  • calahist
  • Clindavix
  • Curash
  • Cyberderm
  • dabur
  • diaper
  • Drunk Elephant
  • Dynashield
  • Gerigard
  • Infinitek
  • Ingenue
  • KidCreme
  • KidStick
  • Kinesys
  • Lassar's Paste
  • Lifecell
  • LincoShield
  • MDSolarSciences
  • multipurpose
  • Natrience
  • Naturopathica
  • Nutrascreen
  • Olivene
  • Oxide, Zinc
  • Paste, Lassar's
  • Perricone
  • Ponds
  • Puttisu
  • Salve
  • Scarscreen
  • Silagen
  • Smarth
  • SOI2LOH54Z
  • Sudocrem
  • Sunblock
  • Sunblocz
  • Sunclear
  • Sunkiss
  • Sunscreen
  • Sunstick
  • Thinkbaby
  • Thinkkids
  • Ultrasol
  • Unsun
  • Visage
  • Zinc oxide

Systematic names

  • (oxido)zinc

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 Zinc oxide?
Zinc oxide is a zinc source used to fortify foods. Outside food, the same compound is used in mineral sunscreens and nappy creams.
What is Zinc oxide used for in food?
It is listed as a colour and a nutrient supplement — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is Zinc oxide banned in Europe?
No. Zinc oxide 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 Zinc oxide permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, 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 Zinc oxide vegan?
Yes. Zinc oxide is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Sources for this page

  • 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.

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