Is Ethyl Hexanoate safe in cosmetics?
Ethyl Hexanoate has a safety rating of "GOOD" in our database. EU status: permitted. US status: permitted.
Good
Cosmetic Ingredient
Ethyl Hexanoate
Also known as: Acetic acid, butyl-, ethyl ester, BRN 1701293, EINECS 204-640-3, FEMA No. 2439, UNII-FLO6YR1SHT (+13 more)
INCI: ETHYL HEXANOATE
Ethyl Hexanoate (CAS 123-66-0) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Fragrance. NOAEL 1000 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 food safety data.
View industrial chemical safety profile for CAS 123-66-0 →
Auto-generated CPSR Part A draft with source citations
Chemistry & Identifiers
IUPAC Name
ethyl hexanoate
InChIKey
SHZIWNPUGXLXDT-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Regulatory Status
EU EU Status
permitted
US US Status
permitted
US Notes
Permitted — not restricted under 21 CFR; GRAS flavor substance
For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
Safety Data
Margin of Safety, dermal absorption, and sensitization profile summaries for Ethyl Hexanoate.
Calculate MoS for your specific formulation with the MoS Calculator.
Pre-Calculated Safety Assessment
Pre-calculated NOAEL → SED → MoS audit trail for Ethyl Hexanoate across SCCS product categories, with measured dermal absorption where available.
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 | 2700 | - | - |
ECHA REACH Registration
European Chemicals Agency REACH dossier and Substances of Very High Concern listing.
Registration Type
Full
Tonnage Band
100 - 1,000 tonnes
Substance Type
SUBSTANCE
SVHC Candidate
No
PubChem Annotations
Safety and regulatory annotations from PubChem (NCBI) aggregated sources.
Regulatory (3)
JECFA Number
31
Source: WHO/JECFA
JECFA Evaluation
ETHYL CAPROATE | 1996 | No safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agent | TRS 868-JECFA 46/21 | See TRS 868-JECFA 46/64
Source: WHO/JECFA
JECFA Evaluation
ETHYL HEXANOATE | 1996 | No safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agent | TRS 868-JECFA 46/21 | See TRS 868-JECFA 46/64
Source: WHO/JECFA
Function Categories & List Membership
Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Flavouring and nutrient
Fragrance
Solvent
Regulatory List Membership (4)
IFRA Fragrance Transparency List
EPA Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL)
FDA Substances Added to Food (EAFUS)
Consumer Product Chemical
Expert Verdict
Expert safety assessment and concern-level summary for Ethyl Hexanoate.
Regulatory Flags
fragrance-component
epa_safer_alternative
ifra_fragrance
fda_food_additive
jecfa_safe
Known Synonyms
Acetic acid, butyl-, ethyl ester
BRN 1701293
EINECS 204-640-3
FEMA No. 2439
UNII-FLO6YR1SHT
Caproic acid ethylester
Capronic ether absolute
Ethyl N-hexanoate
Ethyl butyl acetate
Ethyl butyl acetate (dot)
Ethyl ester of hexanoic acid
Ethyl hexanoate (caproate)
Ethyl hexoate
Ethyl n-hexanoat
FEMA 2439
Hexanoic acid, ethyl ester, mixt. with soybean oil epoxide
hexanoic acid ethyl ester
n-Caproic acid ethyl ester
Chemical Function
Fragrance
Solvent
Flavouring and nutrient
Regulatory Lists
inert_ingredient; non_food_use; Pesticides
Australia; Food and drug - smoking-related products
IFRA Transparency
Europe
food_additive; Substances Added to Food (formerly EAFUS) (2/2019)
consumer_product
active_ingredient; Europe; Pesticides
pharmaceutical
air; Cleaning products and household care - air freshener; detected; emissions; Europe
air; detected; emissions; Personal care
SCIL (9/2019)
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Toys and children's products
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Toys and children's products
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
ETHYL HEXANOATE
ADI
No safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agent mg/kg bw
Food Category
flavoring
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ethyl Hexanoate allowed in the EU?
Ethyl Hexanoate EU regulatory status: permitted. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does Ethyl Hexanoate do in cosmetics?
Ethyl Hexanoate functions as: Fragrance. It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 123-66-0.
Is Ethyl Hexanoate used outside cosmetics?
Ethyl Hexanoate 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 Ethyl Hexanoate 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
2,6-Dimethyl-7-octen-2-ol (Dihydromyrcenol)
Excellent
Same category
Fragrance (perfuming), masking
2-Ethoxy-2,6,6-Trimethyl-9-Methylenebicyclo[3.3.1]Nonane (Boisiris™)
Excellent
Same category
Fragrance (rich woody, orris/iris roo...
3,6-Dimethyl-3-Octyl Acetate
Excellent
Same category
Fragrance / Perfuming agent with flor...
3-Methyl-5-(2,2,3-Trimethyl-3-Cyclopentenyl)Pent-4-En-2-Ol (Sandalore)
Excellent
Same category
Perfuming / Fragrance (sandalwood note)
4-Tert-Butylcyclohexyl Acetate
Excellent
Same category
Fragrance
Acetoin
Excellent
Same category
Skin conditioning, fragrance
(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
2,5-DIMETHYLPYRAZINE
Good
Chemical family
Perfuming
2-Ethylhexylal
Good
Chemical family
Solvent
2-Octanol
Good
Chemical family
Fragrance ingredient, solvent
Is Ethyl Hexanoate 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 Ethyl Hexanoate in your formulation.