Is Phenylacetonitrile safe in cosmetics?
Phenylacetonitrile has a safety rating of "POOR" in our database. EU status: permitted. US status: restricted.
POOR
Cosmetic Ingredient
Phenylacetonitrile
Also known as: Benzeneacetonitrile, Acetic acid, phenyl-nitrile, Benzylnitrile, EINECS 205-410-5, Phenyl acetyl nitrile (+5 more)
INCI: PHENYLACETONITRILE
Phenylacetonitrile (CAS 140-29-4) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Perfuming (fragrance ingredient; also known as benzyl cyanide). 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.
Cross-Vertical Regulatory Divergence
Phenylacetonitrile is classified GHS Danger (H301, H302, H311, H330, H319, H372) in the chemicals database but is allowed in EU cosmetics.
Source: Cosmetics: ingredients.eu status; Chemicals: ghs classifications.signal word/hazard statement code
Function
Perfuming (fragrance ingredient; also known as benzyl cyanide)
Editorial assessment
POOR
Preliminary editorial note — not a computed safety verdict.
Chemistry & Identifiers
IUPAC Name
2-phenylacetonitrile
InChIKey
SUSQOBVLVYHIEX-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Regulatory Status
EU EU Status
permitted
US US Status
restricted
US Notes
DEA List I controlled chemical precursor — purchase/import triggers reporting requirements. FDA has no specific cosmetic ban but acute toxicity profile is prohibitive for most applications
For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
Safety Data
Margin of Safety, dermal absorption, and sensitization profile summaries for Phenylacetonitrile.
Calculate MoS for your specific formulation with the MoS Calculator.
HRIPT Human Patch Test Studies
1 human repeat insult patch test aggregated from dermatological literature.
| Test Type | N | Sensitized | Dose µg/cm² | NESIL µg/cm² | Potency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMT | - | 0 | 1350 | - | - |
ECHA REACH Registration
European Chemicals Agency REACH dossier and Substances of Very High Concern listing.
Registration Type
Intermediate
Tonnage Band
Intermediate use only
Substance Type
SUBSTANCE
SVHC Candidate
No
EU CosIng Annex Listing
European Commission CosIng database Annex references per Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.
Annex II — Prohibited
Ref: 424
(EC) 2009/1223
Expanded Jurisdictional Detail
Additional regulatory detail beyond the 7-jurisdiction summary: Saudi SFDA, Korea MFDS, ASEAN ACD, Japan/Korea, Brazil/India, and cross-jurisdictional restriction entries.
SA Saudi SFDA (II - Prohibited)
BRIN Brazil/India Cosmetics
Brazil: Prohibited
India: Prohibited (GNRAS)
Additional Jurisdictional Restrictions (3)
| Jurisdiction | Status | Max % | Product Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | banned | - | - |
| ASEAN | banned | - | All cosmetic products prohibited |
| KR | prohibited | - | - |
PubChem Annotations
Safety and regulatory annotations from PubChem (NCBI) aggregated sources.
Safety (1)
Carcinogen Classification
No indication of carcinogenicity to humans (not listed by IARC).
Source: Toxin and Toxin Target Database (T3DB)
Function Categories & List Membership
Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Deodorizer
Fragrance
Regulatory List Membership (3)
EU Banned in Cosmetics
Consumer Product Chemical
EU CosIng Cosmetics Ingredient Database
Editorial summary
Preliminary editorial summary for Phenylacetonitrile — not a computed safety verdict. See the sourced toxicological data above.
Regulatory Flags
fragrance-component
eu_banned_cosmetics
eu_cosing_listed
Known Synonyms
Benzeneacetonitrile
Acetic acid, phenyl-nitrile
Benzylnitrile
EINECS 205-410-5
Phenyl acetyl nitrile
Toluene, alpha-cyano-
Benzylkyanid
UNII-23G40PRP93
alpha-cyanotoluene
alpha-tolunitrile
Chemical Function
Deodorizer
Fragrance
Regulatory Lists
consumer_product
banned; Europe; Personal care
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
CHEMBL3560735
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Phenylacetonitrile allowed in the EU?
Phenylacetonitrile EU regulatory status: permitted. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does Phenylacetonitrile do in cosmetics?
Phenylacetonitrile functions as: Perfuming (fragrance ingredient; also known as benzyl cyanide). It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 140-29-4.
Is Phenylacetonitrile used outside cosmetics?
Phenylacetonitrile 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 Phenylacetonitrile have different safety status in cosmetics vs industrial chemicals?
Phenylacetonitrile is classified GHS Danger (H301, H302, H311, H330, H319, H372) in the chemicals database but is allowed in EU cosmetics.
Compliance Tools
Check Phenylacetonitrile 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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