{
  "$schema": "https://foodadditiveindex.com/api/v1/schema.json",
  "id": "https://foodadditiveindex.com/additives/petroleum-wax",
  "slug": "petroleum-wax",
  "name": "Petroleum wax",
  "identifiers": {
    "e_number": "E905",
    "ins_number": "905c(i)",
    "cas_number": "63231-60-7",
    "inchikey": null,
    "pubchem_cid": null
  },
  "functional_class": "Antifoaming agent",
  "summary": "Petroleum wax, sometimes labelled microcrystalline wax, is a glazing agent used on confectionery and cheese rinds and as a moisture barrier.",
  "derivation_summary": "Refined from petroleum during lubricating oil production, then purified to food grade. It is not digested and passes through unchanged.",
  "regulatory_status": [
    {
      "jurisdiction": "US",
      "jurisdiction_name": "United States",
      "authority": "Food and Drug Administration",
      "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
      "status_label": "Permitted, with conditions",
      "provision_count": 1,
      "provisions": [
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": null,
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": null,
          "conditions": null,
          "effective_from": null,
          "citation": {
            "ref": "21 CFR 172.886",
            "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-172.886"
          },
          "source": "ecfr",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T18:25:51.549Z"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "CODEX",
      "jurisdiction_name": "Codex Alimentarius",
      "authority": "Codex Alimentarius Commission / JECFA",
      "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
      "status_label": "Permitted, with conditions",
      "provision_count": 5,
      "provisions": [
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "01.6.2.2",
            "name": "Rind of ripened cheese"
          },
          "max_level": 30000,
          "max_level_unit": "mg/kg",
          "conditions": null,
          "effective_from": "2004",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 905c(i), food category 01.6.2.2",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "04.1.1.2",
            "name": "Surface-treated fresh fruit"
          },
          "max_level": 50,
          "max_level_unit": "mg/kg",
          "conditions": null,
          "effective_from": "2004",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 905c(i), food category 04.1.1.2",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "04.2.1.2",
            "name": "Surface-treated fresh vegetables, (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds and nuts and seeds"
          },
          "max_level": 50,
          "max_level_unit": "mg/kg",
          "conditions": null,
          "effective_from": "2004",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 905c(i), food category 04.2.1.2",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "05.2",
            "name": "Confectionery including hard and soft candy, nougats, etc. other than food categories 05.1, 05.3, and 05.4"
          },
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": "GSFA notes: 3 & XS309R",
          "effective_from": "2017",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 905c(i), food category 05.2",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "05.3",
            "name": "Chewing gum"
          },
          "max_level": 20000,
          "max_level_unit": "mg/kg",
          "conditions": "GSFA notes: 3",
          "effective_from": "2001",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 905c(i), food category 05.3",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "names": [
    {
      "name": "63231-60-7",
      "type": "cas",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "E 905",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "Fischer-Tropsch wax",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hydrocarbon wax",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "Microcrystalline wax",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "Petroleum wax",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "Synthetic paraffin",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "Synthetic wax",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "E905",
      "type": "e_number",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "905c(i)",
      "type": "ins",
      "source": "gsfa"
    },
    {
      "name": "Petroleum wax",
      "type": "label",
      "source": "ecfr"
    }
  ],
  "hazard_reference_values": [
    {
      "type": "ADI",
      "value": 20,
      "value_text": null,
      "unit": "mg/kg bw",
      "population": "consumers",
      "assessing_body": "EFSA",
      "year": null,
      "opinion": null
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "key": "ecfr",
      "name": "Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21",
      "publisher": "U.S. Government Publishing Office / National Archives",
      "licence": "Public domain",
      "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-31/title-21.xml",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T18:25:51.549Z"
    },
    {
      "key": "gsfa",
      "name": "Codex General Standard for Food Additives (CXS 192-1995)",
      "publisher": "Codex Alimentarius Commission (FAO/WHO)",
      "licence": "FAO terms — non-commercial use with attribution",
      "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
    }
  ],
  "citation_policy": "Cite as: Food Additive Index, \"Petroleum wax\", https://foodadditiveindex.com/additives/petroleum-wax. This site reports regulatory status and does not rate additives.",
  "generated_at": "2026-09-08T00:09:38.622Z"
}