SORBIC ACID
Official label name (INCI name, EU glossary of cosmetic ingredient names), No 27290
- Preservative allowed under conditions (Annex V)
SORBIC ACID: Preservative allowed under conditions, with limits depending on the product type (Annex V, entry 4), under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.
In plain words
What it is used for
Functions declared by manufacturers:
Fragrance.
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. <function plain_language.<locals>.name at 0x7f7804e056c0> is on it with a maximum concentration.
The text of the annexes
Preservative allowed under conditions
- Entry
- Annex V, No 4
- Substance
- Hexa-2,4-dienoic acid and its salts
- Glossary names
- SORBIC ACID / CALCIUM SORBATE / SODIUM SORBATE / POTASSIUM SORBATE
- CAS
- 110-44-1 / 7492-55-9 / 7757-81-5 / 24634-61-5
- EC
- 203-768-7 / 231-321-6 / 231-819-3 / 246-376-1
- Maximum concentration
- 0.6% (acid)
Dates in the act (10)
- Entry into force on 11 January 2010
- Application from 1 December 2010
It shall apply from 11 July 2013, with the exception of: — Article 15(1) and (2) which shall apply from 1 December 2010, as well as Articles 14, 31 and 32 to the extent that they are necessary to apply Article 15(1) and (2); and — Article 16(3) second subparagraph, which shall apply from 11 January 2013.
- Entry into force on 1 December 2010
- Condition applicable from 11 January 2012
As from 11 January 2012, by way of derogation from Directive 76/768/EEC, notification carried out in accordance with Article 13 of this Regulation shall be considered to comply with Article 7(3) and Article 7a(4) of that Directive
- Application from 11 January 2013
July 2013, with the exception of: — Article 15(1) and (2) which shall apply from 1 December 2010, as well as Articles 14, 31 and 32 to the extent that they are necessary to apply Article 15(1) and (2); and — Article 16(3) second subparagraph, which shall apply from 11 January 2013.
- Entry into force on 11 January 2013
- Application from 11 July 2013
It shall apply from 11 July 2013, with the exception of: — Article 15(1) and (2) which shall apply from 1 December 2010, as well as Articles 14, 31 and 32 to the extent that they are necessary to apply Article 15(1) and (2); and — Article 16(3) second subparagraph, which shall appl
- Entry into force on 11 July 2013
- Placing on the market before 11 July 2013
Article 39 Transitional provisions By way of derogation from Directive 76/768/EEC, cosmetic products which comply with this Regulation may be placed on the market before 11 July 2013.
- Placing on the market from 11 July 2013
As from 11 July 2013, a distributor who makes available in a Member State a cosmetic product already placed on the market in another Member State and translates, on his own initiative, any element of the labelling of that product in order to comply with national law, shall submit, by electronic means, the following info
Excerpts from the English text published in the Official Journal. A date may concern only some substances of the act: the excerpt says so.
Identity
- CosIng identifier
- 38173
- CAS (according to CosIng)
- 110-44-1
- EC (according to CosIng)
- 203-768-7
- Declared functions
- Fragrance, Preservative
- Wikidata
- Q407131
- PubChem
- 643460
- ECHA InfoCard
- 100.003.427
- InChIKey
- WSWCOQWTEOXDQX-MQQKCMAXSA-N
Elsewhere in the world
Information on other jurisdictions. What is covered, and what is not yet.
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: 소르빅애씨드(헥사-2,4-디에노익 애씨드) 및 그 염류 (SORBIC ACID)
별표 2, 보존제 성분 (preservatives), entry 28, page 6. Limit: 소르빅애씨드로 서 0.6%. Conditions (source text, in Korean): 화학물질명: 소르빅애씨드 (CAS No. 110-44-1) | 화학물질명: 포타슘솔베이트 (CAS No. 24634-61-5 / 590-00-1) | 화학물질명: 소듐솔베이트 (CAS No. 7757-81-5) | 화학물질명: 칼슘솔베이트 (CAS No. 7492-55-9) | 화학물질명: TEA-솔베이트
Brazil
- Allowed under conditions: Ácido sórbico e seus sais (SORBIC ACID/ CALCIUM SORBATE/ SODIUM SORBATE/ POTASSIUM SORBATE)
RDC 528/2021, Anexo (allowed preservatives), entry 5, page 3. Limit: 0,6% (expresso como ácido).
Recorded cosmetics that contain it
280 recorded products list it, according to Open Beauty Facts contributors. Records are dated: the formula may have changed. See the list (page in French).
Glossary: Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1175. Page updated on 21 October 2026.