ETHYL PHENYLACETATE
See the summary at the top of this page. CosIng, Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (prohibited substances), Consulted on 23 October 2026.
Official label name (INCIInternational name of cosmetic ingredients: the one printed on the pack. name, EU glossary of cosmetic ingredient names), No 10114
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 harmonised classification for sensitisation, irritation or eye damage, and no obligation to label it as an allergen.
Environment
No harmonised classification as hazardous to the aquatic environment, and no EU act identifies it 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:
The functions and their explanations appear in the summary.
Functions declared in the CosIngThe European Commission's database of cosmetic ingredients. inventory. CosIng, inventory of cosmetic ingredients (INCI names, CAS, EC, functions), retrieved 21 October 2026.
CosIng, list of cosmetic functions, retrieved 30 October 2026; source text read on 30 October 2026.
What the rules say
No EU rule targets this ingredient specifically. It remains subject to the general rule: every product must undergo a safety assessment before it is sold (Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009), under the manufacturer's responsibility.
See the summary at the top of this page.
What we know about this ingredient
Uses
Ethyl phenylacetate is a less toxic, greener solvent. It is non-mutagenic and is a certified Kosher food additive. Ethyl phenylacetate is used in perfumery.
Food additive permitted for direct addition to food for human consumption. Synthetic flavoring substance and adjuvant.
Perfumery; flavors; intermediate, especially for phenobarbital; herbicide.
Table: Reported uses (ppm): (Flavor and Extract Manufacturers' Association, 1994) [Table#8420]
PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · Sigma-Aldrich; Product information for Ethyl phenylacetate (CAS 101-97-3); Available from, as of April 27, 2017: https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/technical-service-home/product-catalog.html; FDA; CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 Food and Drugs. 21CFR172.515. Available from, as of May 25, 2017: https://www.fda.gov; Larranaga, M.D., Lewis, R.J. Sr., Lewis, R.A.; Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary 16th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ 2016., p. 597; Burdock, G.A. (ed.). Fenaroli's Handbook of Flavor Ingredients. 6th ed.Boca Raton, FL 2010, p. 656.
Use classification
Cosmetics -> Tonic; Solvent
Molecule occurring naturally in plants or organisms; the cosmetic ingredient may be extracted from them, produced by fermentation or synthesised: the label does not say which.
Basis: one CosIng CAS and natural occurrence recorded in Wikidata (LOTUS database).
Wikidata: names of substances in six languages and taxa in which they occur (largely from the LOTUS database), retrieved 23 October 2026.
Natural occurrence recorded in Wikidata (LOTUS database): 9 taxa; examples: Artemisia ammaniana, Artemisia judaica, Opuntia ficus-indica, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Zea mays.
Wikidata: names of substances in six languages and taxa in which they occur (largely from the LOTUS database), retrieved 23 October 2026.
Manufacturing
Prepd by heating benzyl cyanide with alcohol and /sulfuric acid/.
Synthesis: By heating at the boil phenylacetonitrile and sulfuric acid in alcohol solution; by esterification of the acid catalyzed by HCl or H2SO4.
PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · O'Neil, M.J. (ed.). The Merck Index - An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. Cambridge, UK: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2013., p. 709; Burdock, G.A. (ed.). Fenaroli's Handbook of Flavor Ingredients. 6th ed.Boca Raton, FL 2010, p. 656.
Appearance
Colorless liquid
Liquid
PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · Lewis, R.J. Sr. (ed) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 12th Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ. 2012., p. V3: 2083; Haynes, W.M. (ed.). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. 95th Edition. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton: FL 2014-2015, p. 3-266.
Odour described
Pleasant odor
Sweet, honey odor
PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · O'Neil, M.J. (ed.). The Merck Index - An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. Cambridge, UK: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2013., p. 709; Lewis, R.J. Sr. (ed) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 12th Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ. 2012., p. V3: 2083.
Stability
Stable under recommended storage conditions.
Taste described
Floral, Fruit, Honey, Rose
Taste characteristics at 10 ppm: sweet, fruity, honey, cocoa, apple and woody
Other names: Phenylessigsäureethylester (German).
Wikidata: names of substances in six languages and taxa in which they occur (largely from the LOTUS database), retrieved 23 October 2026.
Open Beauty Facts, export of cosmetic products, retrieved 23 October 2026.
Data “Open Beauty Facts and its contributors”, licensed under ODbL 1.0 (opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0); derived table distributed under the same licence.
The text of the annexes
No specific rule of the EU Cosmetics Regulation names this ingredient: it is on none of its lists (prohibited, restricted, colorants, preservatives, UV filters). It may be used under the responsibility of the manufacturer, who must ensure the product is safe.
Search in Annexes II to VI. CosIng, Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (prohibited substances), retrieved 23 October 2026, source updated 13 October 2026.
Identity
- CosIng identifier
- 33847
- CAS (according to CosIng)
- 101-97-3
- EC (according to CosIng)
- 202-993-8
- Declared functions
- Perfuming
- Wikidata
- Q27291591
- PubChem
- 7590
- ECHA InfoCard
- 100.002.722
- InChIKey
- DULCUDSUACXJJC-UHFFFAOYSA-N
CosIng inventory. CosIng, inventory of cosmetic ingredients (INCI names, CAS, EC, functions), retrieved 21 October 2026.
Wikidata, items with a CosIng identifier (P3073), retrieved 22 October 2026.
Wikidata, PubChem and ECHAEuropean Chemicals Agency. links are published only when verified: same CosIng identifier, a single item, matching CAS number.
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 | No specific rule in the Cosmetics Regulation | not cited |
| United Kingdom | No specific rule in the Cosmetics Regulation | not cited |
| Switzerland | EU Regulation applies | not cited |
| United States (federal) | No federal rule recorded | not cited |
| Canada | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| Japan | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| South Korea | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| China | Not on the prohibited lists recorded (lists of allowed substances are not recorded) | not cited |
| Australia | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| ASEAN | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| Taiwan | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| Brazil | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
United Kingdom (Great Britain)
- No specific rule in the Cosmetics Regulation
Annexes II to VI in force. United Kingdom, Annexes II to VI of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 as retained and amended, retrieved 21 October 2026.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Northern Ireland applies EU law.
Switzerland
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 applies in Switzerland (Article 54 of the Ordinance on Foodstuffs and Utility Articles).
Switzerland, FDHA Ordinance on Cosmetic Products (OCos, SR 817.023.31), consolidated version, retrieved 22 October 2026.
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.
United States, 21 CFR part 700 and section 250.250 (FDA rules on cosmetic ingredients), eCFR, retrieved 21 October 2026.
The eCFR is not an official legal edition of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Glossary: Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1175. Page updated on 23 October 2026.