Is SORBITAN LAURATE safe in cosmetics?
SORBITAN LAURATE has a safety rating of "GOOD" in our database. EU status: permitted. US status: permitted.
GOOD
Cosmetic Ingredient
SORBITAN LAURATE
Also known as: Sorbitan monolaurate, Span(R) 20, Sorbitan, monododecanoate, Sorbitan, monolaurate, EINECS 215-663-3 (+4 more)
SORBITAN LAURATE (CAS 1338-39-2) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Surfactant - Emulsifying. 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, pharmaceutical, and food safety data.
Function
Surfactant - Emulsifying
Editorial assessment
GOOD
Preliminary editorial note — not a computed safety verdict.
Chemistry & Identifiers
IUPAC Name
[(2R)-2-[(2R,3R,4S)-3,4-dihydroxyoxolan-2-yl]-2-hydroxyethyl] dodecanoate
InChIKey
LWZFANDGMFTDAV-BURFUSLBSA-N
Regulatory Status
EU EU Status
permitted
US US Status
permitted
US Notes
CIR: S - JACT 4(3):65-121, 1985
For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
EPA ToxValDB — Toxicity Values
10 toxicity values from EPA ToxValDB (aggregated from CCTE, HPV, ToxRefDB, IRIS, and other regulatory dossiers).
| Endpoint | Value | Species | Route | Duration | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEL | =850 mg/kg-day | Cow Family | oral | subchronic | EFSA |
| LEL | =8500 mg/kg-day | Chicken | oral | subchronic | EFSA |
| LEL | =8500 mg/kg-day | Pig | oral | subchronic | EFSA |
| NOAEL | =2600 mg/kg-day | Mouse | oral | chronic | EFSA |
| NOAEL | =2600 mg/kg-day | Mouse | oral | chronic | EFSA |
| ADI | <=25 mg/kg | Human | oral | - | WHO/JECFA |
| LD50 | =33600 mg/kg | Rat | oral | - | ChemIDplus |
| LD50 | =36000 mg/kg | Rat | oral | - | HPVIS |
| LD50 | >41250 mg/kg | Rat | oral | - | HPVIS |
| LD50 | =41300 mg/kg | Rat | oral | - | HPVIS |
ECHA REACH Registration
European Chemicals Agency REACH dossier and Substances of Very High Concern listing.
Registration Type
Full
Tonnage Band
Ceased manufacture
Substance Type
SUBSTANCE
SVHC Candidate
No
PubChem Annotations
Safety and regulatory annotations from PubChem (NCBI) aggregated sources.
Regulatory (1)
JECFA Evaluation
SORBITAN MONOLAURATE | 1982 | 0-25 mg/kg bw | Group ADI as the sum of the sorbitan esters of lauric, oleic, palmitic and stearic acid. | TRS 683-JECFA 26/18; see also TRS 891-JECFA 51/2 (1998) | FAS 17-JECFA 26/218
Source: WHO/JECFA
Function Categories & List Membership
Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Anti-static agent
Dispersing agent
Emulsifier
Surfactant (surface active agent)
Wetting agent (non-aqueous)
Regulatory List Membership (2)
EPA Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL)
FDA Indirect Food Contact Additives
Editorial summary
Preliminary editorial summary for SORBITAN LAURATE — not a computed safety verdict. See the sourced toxicological data above.
Regulatory Flags
cosing-sourced
eu-permitted
surfactant
needs-enrichment
epa_safer_alternative
Known Synonyms
Sorbitan monolaurate
Span(R) 20
Sorbitan, monododecanoate
Sorbitan, monolaurate
EINECS 215-663-3
Radiasurf 7125
Emasol Super L 10(F)
Sorbitani lauras
UNII-6W9PS8B71J
Chemical Function
Emulsifier
Surfactant (surface active agent)
Anti-static agent
Dispersing agent
Regulatory Lists
pharmaceutical
Europe; plastic_additive
drinking_water; Europe; manufacturing; plastic_additive
inert_ingredient; non_food_use; Pesticides
Indirect additives food contact (10/2018)
SCIL (9/2019)
Australian Status
AICIS status: listed
Cross-Vertical Safety Context
Same-CAS public records found in pharmaceutical and food safety data.
SOURCE
ChEMBL / DrugCentral / FAERS
DB_PHARMA CAS match
Pharmaceutical Data
Same-CAS rows from the pharmaceutical spoke database.
Compound
SORBITAN MONOLAURATE
ChEMBL ID
CHEMBL3706389
Max Phase
2
SOURCE
EFSA / FDA GRAS
food_additives
Food Safety Data
Same-CAS food additive or FDA GRAS records from the core public database.
Food Name
Sorbitan monolaurate
E Number
E493
ADI
25 mg/kg bw
Food Category
emulsifier
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SORBITAN LAURATE allowed in the EU?
SORBITAN LAURATE EU regulatory status: permitted. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does SORBITAN LAURATE do in cosmetics?
SORBITAN LAURATE functions as: Surfactant - Emulsifying. It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 1338-39-2.
Is SORBITAN LAURATE used outside cosmetics?
SORBITAN LAURATE also appears in industrial chemical safety, pharmaceutical, and food safety data. The cross-vertical cards on this page render same-CAS public rows from the matched databases.
Compliance Tools
Check SORBITAN LAURATE 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
Related Ingredients
Alpha-Glucan Oligosaccharide-1
EXCELLENT
Same category
Skin conditioning, cleansing, smoothi...
Ammonium Acryloyl Dimethyltaurate/Carboxyethyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
EXCELLENT
Same category
Dispersing agent (nonsurfactant), vis...
Ammonium Cocoyl Isethionate
EXCELLENT
Same category
Surfactant – cleansing, foaming
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate
EXCELLENT
Same category
Cleansing, foaming, surfactant
Ammonium Stearate
EXCELLENT
Same category
Cleansing, surfactant, emulsifying
Apricot Kernel Oil Polyglyceryl-10 Esters
EXCELLENT
Same category
Skin conditioning, emollient, surfact...
(AGARICUS BLAZEI FERMENT + GANODERMA LUCIDUM FERMENT + GANODERMA MULTIPILEUM FERMENT) EXTRACT
GOOD
Similar safety
Anti-sebum, Antioxidant, Skin Protecting
(ANGELICA ACUTILOBA/PAEONIA LACTIFLORA/REHMANNIA GLUTINOSA) ROOT/CNIDIUM OFFICINALE RHIZOME EXTRACT
GOOD
Similar safety
Skin Conditioning, Skin Conditioning ...
(ANGELICA ACUTILOBA/PAEONIA LACTIFLORA/REHMANNIA GLUTINOSA/SCUTELLARIA BAICALENSIS) ROOT/(CNIDIUM OFFICINALE/COPTIS CHINENSIS) RHIZOME/GARDENIA JASMINOIDES FRUIT/PHELLODENDRON CHINENSE BARK EXTRACT
GOOD
Similar safety
(ANGELICA GIGAS/GLYCYRRHIZA URALENSIS/REHMANNIA GLUTINOSA ROOT)/ANGELICA GIGAS STEM/CARTHAMUS TINCTORIUS FLOWER/(CARTHAMUS TINCTORIUS/PRUNUS PERSICA SEED)PORIA COCOS WATER
GOOD
Similar safety
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Pr...
(ANGELICA KEISKEI/CHRYSANTHEMUM ZAWADSKII) LEAF/STEM/CINNAMOMUM CASSIA BARK/TRICHOSANTES KIRILOWII FRUIT/ULMUS DAVIDIANA BARK/ROOT/(PAEONIA JAPONICA/BUPLEURUM FALCATUM/POLYGALA TENUIFOLIA ROOT)/VISCUS ALBUM STEM EXTRACT
GOOD
Similar safety
Anti-seborrheic, Anti-sebum, Antioxid...
(APPLE/CITRUS JUNOS/LENTIL/PEAR/PUMPKIN/STRAWBERRY/TOMATO FRUIT)/CORN KERNEL/(ARCTIUM LAPPA/BRASSICA OLERACEA ACEPHALA/CABBAGE/CAMELLIA SINENSIS/MORINGA OLEIFERA/RADISH/SPINACH LEAF)/(SORGHUM BICOLOR LEAF/STEM)/OAT MEAL/POTATO PULP/(CARROT/NELUMBO NUCIFERA/RADISH/WILD YAM ROOT)/(AMARANTHUS HYPOCHONDRIACUS/CASHEW/CICER ARIETINUM/COIX LACRYMA-JOBI MA-YUEN /MACADAMIA TERNIFOLIA/PHASEOLUS ANGULARIS/PISTACIA VERA/RHYNCHOSIA NULUBILIS/RICE/SESAME/SETARIA ITALICA/SOYBEAN/SWEET ALMOND/WHEAT SEED)/HORDEUM VULGARE SPROUT/CYPERUS ESCULENTUS TUBER/ARTEMISIA PRINCEPS/BROCCOLI/CHENOPODIUM QUINOA/ENTEROMORPHA COMPRESSA/HORDEUM VULGARE/IPOMOEA BATATAS/LAMINARIA JAPONICA/LENTINUS EDODES/PLEUROTUS OSTREATUS/PORPHYRA TENERA/UNDARIA PINNATIFIDA EXTRACT
GOOD
Similar safety
Antioxidant
MEK Peroxides (Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide / MEKP)
MODERATE
Chemical family
Oxidizing agent / catalyst (industria...
Sorbitan Stearate
GOOD
Chemical family
Emulsifier; W/O co-emulsifier; stabil...
SORBITAN FATTY ACID ESTER
GOOD
Browse nearby
Surfactant - Cleansing, Surfactant - ...
Is SORBITAN LAURATE in Your Products?
Scan any product label with Piro — our free ingredient scanner. Point your camera at the ingredients list and get instant safety scores for every ingredient.
Try Piro Free →Analyze Your Full Ingredient List
Paste any INCI list into the Decoder for instant safety analysis, or calculate the Margin of Safety for SORBITAN LAURATE in your formulation.