Is Monosodium Citrate safe in cosmetics?
Monosodium Citrate has a safety rating of "MODERATE" in our database. EU status: permitted. US status: permitted.
MODERATE
Cosmetic Ingredient
Monosodium Citrate
Also known as: 1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-, sodium salt (1:1), 1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-, monosodium salt, Citric acid, monosodium salt, Sodium citrate (NaC6H7O7), Citrofluyl (+5 more)
INCI: MONOSODIUM CITRATE
Monosodium Citrate (CAS 18996-35-5) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Buffering (pH control). EU Regulation 1223/2009 status: permitted. Industrial safety data is also available in the chemical safety database. Same-CAS public records also appear in industrial chemical safety and food safety data.
View industrial chemical safety profile for CAS 18996-35-5 →
Function
Buffering (pH control)
Editorial assessment
MODERATE
Preliminary editorial note — not a computed safety verdict.
Chemistry & Identifiers
IUPAC Name
sodium 3-carboxy-3,5-dihydroxy-5-oxopentanoate
InChIKey
HWPKGOGLCKPRLZ-UHFFFAOYSA-M
Regulatory Status
EU EU Status
permitted
US US Status
permitted
US Notes
Allowed - GRAS for food use; safe for cosmetics per CIR assessment of citric acid and its salts
For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
Safety Data
Margin of Safety, dermal absorption, and sensitization profile summaries for Monosodium Citrate.
Calculate MoS for your specific formulation with the MoS Calculator.
ECHA REACH Registration
European Chemicals Agency REACH dossier and Substances of Very High Concern listing.
Registration Type
Full
Tonnage Band
1,000 - 10,000 tonnes
Substance Type
SUBSTANCE
SVHC Candidate
No
PubChem Annotations
Safety and regulatory annotations from PubChem (NCBI) aggregated sources.
Regulatory (2)
JECFA Evaluation
SODIUM CITRATE MONOBASIC | 1979 | NOT LIMITED | Included in the group ADI for citric acid and bases | TRS 648-JECFA 23/31 | NOT PREPARED
Source: WHO/JECFA
EU Food Improvement
Food additives
Source: EU Food Improvement Agents
Function Categories & List Membership
Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Chelating agent
Degradant/impurity
Fragrance
Processing aids not otherwise specified
pH regulating agent
Regulatory List Membership (3)
IFRA Fragrance Transparency List
EPA Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL)
FDA Indirect Food Contact Additives
Editorial summary
Preliminary editorial summary for Monosodium Citrate — not a computed safety verdict. See the sourced toxicological data above.
Regulatory Flags
potential-allergen
epa_safer_alternative
ifra_fragrance
Known Synonyms
1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-, sodium salt (1:1)
1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-, monosodium salt
Citric acid, monosodium salt
Sodium citrate (NaC6H7O7)
Citrofluyl
E 331i
Monosodium dihydrogen citrate
Sodium dihydrogen citrate
PROPANE-1,2,3-TRICARBOXYLATE, 2-HYDROXY-, MONOSODIUM
E 331 (i)
Chemical Function
pH regulating agent
Fragrance
Processing aids not otherwise specified
Degradant/impurity
Regulatory Lists
IFRA Transparency
inert_ingredient; Pesticides
Indirect additives food contact (10/2018)
inert_ingredient; non_food_use; Pesticides
SCIL (9/2019)
Australian Status
AICIS status: listed
Cross-Vertical Safety Context
Same-CAS public records found in food safety data.
SOURCE
EFSA / FDA GRAS
food_additives
Food Safety Data
Same-CAS food additive or FDA GRAS records from the core public database.
Food Name
Monosodium citrate
E Number
E331i
ADI
NOT LIMITED mg/kg bw
Food Category
flavor_enhancer
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Monosodium Citrate allowed in the EU?
Monosodium Citrate EU regulatory status: permitted. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does Monosodium Citrate do in cosmetics?
Monosodium Citrate functions as: Buffering (pH control). It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 18996-35-5.
Is Monosodium Citrate used outside cosmetics?
Monosodium Citrate also appears in industrial chemical safety and food safety data. The cross-vertical cards on this page render same-CAS public rows from the matched databases.
Compliance Tools
Check Monosodium Citrate compliance across multiple jurisdictions:
Ingredient Decoder
Paste a full ingredient list for instant analysis
82 Allergen Checker
Check for EU declarable fragrance allergens
Substance Compliance
Check compliance across multiple jurisdictions
MoS Calculator
Calculate Margin of Safety using SCCS methodology
Heavy Metal Limits
Compare limits across jurisdictions
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