Zinc stearate

Zinc stearate is an anticaking and release agent, and a minor zinc source.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Zinc stearate 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 182.8994retrieved 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 reacting stearic acid with a zinc source. The stearic acid may be plant or animal in origin.

  • 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.

InChIKey
XOOUIPVCVHRTMJ-UHFFFAOYSA-L
PubChem
CID 11178

Every name it appears under

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

CAS registry number

  • 144188-98-7
  • 51731-04-5
  • 557-05-1

As it appears in regulation

  • Zinc stearate

Other names

  • Caswell No. 926
  • Coad
  • Dermarone
  • Dibasic zinc stearate
  • EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 077002
  • HSDB 212
  • Hydense
  • Hytech
  • Mathe
  • Metallac
  • Metasap 576
  • Octadecanoic acid, zinc salt
  • Octadecanoic acid, zinc salt (2:1)
  • Octadecanoic acid, zinc salt, basic
  • Petrac ZN-41
  • Stavinor ZN-E
  • Stearic acid, zinc salt
  • Synpro stearate
  • Synpro stearate (VAN)
  • Talculin Z
  • Unichem ZS
  • Witco Zinc Stearate USP
  • Zink distearat
  • Zn Stearate
  • ZnSt

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/zinc-stearate.json