CALCIUM PROPIONATE
Official label name (INCIInternational name of cosmetic ingredients: the one printed on the pack. name, EU glossary of cosmetic ingredient names), No 4972
- Preservative allowed under conditions (Annex V)
CALCIUM PROPIONATE: Preservative allowed under conditions, with limits depending on the product type (Annex V, entry 2), under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. Annexes of the Regulation consulted on 21 October 2026.
Who it concerns
What official classifications and rules say for each group. A classification describes the hazard of the pure substance, not the risk of a product that contains it, which depends on the dose and the exposure.
Prohibition or serious classificationThe text prohibits the substance for this use, or ranks it among the most serious hazards (known or presumed carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic, identified endocrine disruptor).Worth watchingThe text sets a condition or flags a hazard worth knowing: allergen, suspected effect, condition for children, hazard to the aquatic environment.For informationOfficial information with no condition on a finished product: warning to read, irritation of the pure substance.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
No classification harmonised by the European Union covers reproduction, the unborn child or breastfeeding for this substance. This does not mean it has been judged to have no effect during pregnancy.
Babies and children
The Cosmetics Regulation sets no age-related condition for this ingredient.
Skin, eyes and allergies
No official classification for sensitisation, irritation or eye damage, and no obligation to label it as an allergen.
Environment
No official classification as hazardous to the aquatic environment and no assessment as an endocrine disruptor for the environment.
Read on the label
The Cosmetics Regulation requires no warning to be printed for this ingredient.
In plain words
What it is used for
Functions declared by manufacturers:
Preservative: inhibits primarily the development of micro-organisms in cosmetics.
What the rules say
An ingredient can be used as a preservative only if it appears on the list of Annex V. CALCIUM PROPIONATE is on it with a maximum concentration.
The text of the annexes
Preservative allowed under conditions
- Maximum concentration
- 2% (acid)
- Entry
- Annex V, No 2
- Substance
- Propionic acid and its salts
- Glossary names
- PROPIONIC ACID / AMMONIUM PROPIONATE / CALCIUM PROPIONATE / MAGNESIUM PROPIONATE / POTASSIUM PROPIONATE / SODIUM PROPIONATE
- CAS
- 79-09-4 / 17496-08-1 / 4075-81-4 / 557-27-7 / 327-62-8 / 137-40-6
- EC
- 201-176-3 / 241-503-7 / 223-795-8 / 209-166-0 / 206-323-5 / 205-290-4
What has changed, and what will change
Dates of the texts that cover this ingredient. A text date may cover several substances: the details of each entry are below.
Annex V, entry 2: introduced or replaced by Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009
Annex V, entry 2: applies from this date
Identity
- CosIng identifier
- 32341
- CAS (according to CosIng)
- 4075-81-4
- EC (according to CosIng)
- 223-795-8
- Declared functions
- Preservative
- Wikidata
- Q417394
- ECHAEuropean Chemicals Agency. InfoCard
- 100.021.633
- InChIKey
- BCZXFFBUYPCTSJ-UHFFFAOYSA-L
Elsewhere in the world
Information on other jurisdictions, with no effect on sale in France. What is covered, and what is not yet.
Comparison between countries
Most restrictive status in each country, and the maximum concentration cited. The details and the source of each rule follow.
| Country | Rule | Maximum concentration cited |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | Preservative allowed under conditions | 2% |
| United Kingdom | Preservative allowed under conditions | 2% |
| Switzerland | EU Regulation applies | 2% |
| United States (federal) | No federal rule recorded | not cited |
| Japan | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| South Korea | Restricted differs from the EU | 0.9% |
| China | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| Australia | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| Brazil | Allowed under conditions | 2% |
United Kingdom (Great Britain)
- Preservative allowed under conditions (Annex V)
Same entries as in the European Union. Conditions (concentrations, warnings) may differ: they are not compared here.
Switzerland
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 applies in Switzerland (Article 54 of the Ordinance on Foodstuffs and Utility Articles).
United States, federal rules
None of the integrated sections of the federal code (21 CFR 700.11 to 700.27 and 250.250) targets this name. The FDA does not publish a list of allowed ingredients.
South Korea
- Restricted: 프로피오닉애씨드 및 그 염류 (CALCIUM PROPIONATE)
별표 2, 보존제 성분 (preservatives), entry 54, page 11-12. Limit: 프로피오닉애씨드로서 0.9%.
Conditions, source text, in Korean
화학물질명: 프로피오닉애씨드 (CAS No. 79-09-4) | 화학물질명: 칼슘프로피오네이트 (CAS No. 4075-81-4) | 화학물질명: 소듐프로피오네이트 (CAS No. 137-40-6) | 화학물질명: 포타슘프로피오네이트 (CAS No. 327-62-8) | 화학물질명: 암모늄프로피오네이트 (CAS No. 17496-08-1) | 화학물질명: 마그네슘프로피오네이트 (CAS No. 557-27-7)
Brazil
- Allowed under conditions: Ácido propiônico e seus sais (PROPIONIC ACID/AMMONIUM PROPIONATE/CALCIUM PROPIONATE/MAGNESIUM PROPIONATE/POTASSIUM PROPIONATE/SODIUM PROPIONATE)
RDC 528/2021, Anexo (allowed preservatives), entry 3, page 2. Limit: 2.0% (expresso como ácido).
Glossary: Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1175. Page updated on 21 October 2026.