Is Phenethyl Acetate safe in cosmetics?
Phenethyl Acetate has a safety rating of "EXCELLENT" in our database. EU status: permitted. US status: permitted.
Excellent
Cosmetic Ingredient
Phenethyl Acetate
Also known as: Acetic acid, 2-phenylethyl ester, BRN 0638179, EINECS 203-113-5, Ethanol, 2-phenyl-, acetate, FEMA No. 2857 (+4 more)
INCI: PHENETHYL ACETATE
Phenethyl Acetate (CAS 103-45-7) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Fragrance, Masking. NOAEL 480 mg/kg bw/day (cross-referenced against ToxValDB ECHA IUCLID); 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 pharmaceutical data.
View industrial chemical safety profile for CAS 103-45-7 →
Auto-generated CPSR Part A draft with source citations
Cross-Vertical Regulatory Divergence
Phenethyl Acetate is classified GHS Danger (H318, H319) in the chemicals database but is allowed in EU cosmetics.
Source: Cosmetics: ingredients.eu_status; Chemicals: ghs_classifications.signal_word/hazard_statement_code
Function
Fragrance, Masking
Safety Rating
EXCELLENT
Chemistry & Identifiers
IUPAC Name
2-phenylethyl acetate
InChIKey
MDHYEMXUFSJLGV-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Regulatory Status
EU EU Status
permitted
US US Status
permitted
US Notes
FEMA GRAS #2857; no FDA cosmetic restrictions
For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
Safety Data
Margin of Safety, dermal absorption, and sensitization profile summaries for Phenethyl Acetate.
Calculate MoS for your specific formulation with the MoS Calculator.
Pre-Calculated Safety Assessment
Pre-calculated NOAEL → SED → MoS audit trail for Phenethyl Acetate across SCCS product categories, with measured dermal absorption where available.
Sensitization AOP Dashboard
Adverse Outcome Pathway data across 5 assays (DPRA, KeratinoSens, hCLAT, LLNA, NESIL) aggregated from public sources.
NESIL
1550 µg/cm²
GHS: 1B
Human: positive
Source: HPPT: [65] Kligman AM (1970): Report to RIFM, 1 June, unpublished.
HRIPT Human Patch Test Studies
2 human repeat insult patch tests aggregated from dermatological literature.
| Test Type | N | Sensitized | Dose µg/cm² | NESIL µg/cm² | Potency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMT | - | 0 | 6480 | - | - |
| HRIPT | - | 0 | 1550 | - | - |
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 Number
989
Source: Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)
JECFA Evaluation
PHENETHYL ACETATE | 2002 | No safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agent | TRS 913-JECFA 59/53 | FAS 50-JECFA 59/215
Source: Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)
Function Categories & List Membership
Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Deodorizer
Flavouring and nutrient
Fragrance
No specific technical function
Regulatory List Membership (3)
IFRA Fragrance Transparency List
FDA Substances Added to Food (EAFUS)
Consumer Product Chemical
Expert Verdict
Expert safety assessment and concern-level summary for Phenethyl Acetate.
Regulatory Flags
ifra_fragrance
fda_food_additive
jecfa_safe
NOAEL Studies Summary
View details ->Public NOAEL study rows linked to Phenethyl Acetate by CAS number or substance name.
Studies
21
Lowest NOAEL
250 mg/kg bw/day
Highest NOAEL
6000 mg/kg bw/day
ECHA_REACH_reach_study_results_dossiers_23-05-2023.zip
Known Synonyms
Acetic acid, 2-phenylethyl ester
BRN 0638179
EINECS 203-113-5
Ethanol, 2-phenyl-, acetate
FEMA No. 2857
UNII-67733846OW
acetic acid beta-phenylethyl ester
beta-phenethyl acetate
beta-phenylethyl acetate
Chemical Function
Deodorizer
No specific technical function
Flavouring and nutrient
Fragrance
Regulatory Lists
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Vehicle - car interior - auto air freshener
detected; Europe; Personal care - sexual wellness
detected; Europe; Personal care - sexual wellness
detected; Europe; Vehicle - car interior
air; detected; emissions; Personal care
Australia; Food and drug - smoking-related products
IFRA Transparency
Europe
food_additive; Substances Added to Food (formerly EAFUS) (2/2019)
consumer_product
Australian Status
AICIS status: listed
Cross-Vertical Safety Context
Same-CAS public records found in pharmaceutical data.
SOURCE
ChEMBL / DrugCentral / FAERS
DB_PHARMA CAS match
Pharmaceutical Data
Same-CAS rows from the pharmaceutical spoke database.
ChEMBL ID
CHEMBL3184025
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Phenethyl Acetate allowed in the EU?
Phenethyl Acetate EU regulatory status: permitted. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does Phenethyl Acetate do in cosmetics?
Phenethyl Acetate functions as: Fragrance, Masking. It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 103-45-7.
Is Phenethyl Acetate used outside cosmetics?
Phenethyl Acetate also appears in industrial chemical safety and pharmaceutical data. The cross-vertical cards on this page render same-CAS public rows from the matched databases.
Does Phenethyl Acetate have different safety status in cosmetics vs industrial chemicals?
Phenethyl Acetate is classified GHS Danger (H318, H319) in the chemicals database but is allowed in EU cosmetics.
Compliance Tools
Check Phenethyl Acetate 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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