beauty
cleaning
food
industrial

Etidronic acid

CAS 2809-21-4 · 70/100 · High conf.

Also registered as 14 other CAS numbers

51888-66-5 · 66216-98-6 · 83047-25-0 · 85188-80-3 · 85985-26-8 · 86159-18-4 · 100511-44-2 · 103736-66-9 · 106908-76-3 · 129130-42-3 · 138360-84-6 · 192526-55-9 · 303177-33-5 · 853028-38-3

Concern score

70/100High concern based on regulatory listings.

High confidence

Etidronic acid in plain language

What it is: On cosmetic ingredient lists it appears as “Disodium etidronate”.
Also known as Disodium etidronate · Tetrapotassium etidronate · Tetrasodium etidronate · Etidronate · (1-Hydroxyethylidene)diphosphonic acid and its salts · Hedp
Show all 39 names
(1-Hydroxyethane-1,1-diyl)bis(phosphonic acid) · (1-hydroxy-1-phosphonoethyl)phosphonic acid · Oedp · Phosphonic acid, (1-HYDROXYETHYLIDENE)BIS- · (1-HYDROXY-ETHYLIDENE)DIPHOSPHONIC acid · (1-HYDROXYAETHYLIDEN)-DIPHOSPHONSAEURE · (1-Hydroxyethylidene)-1,1-bis(phosphonic acid) · (1-Hydroxyethylidene)bisphosphonic acid · (1-Hydroxyethylidene)diphosphonic acid · 1,1,1-Ethanetriol diphosphonate · 1-HYDROXYETHANE-1,1-BISPHOSPHONIC acid · 1-Hydroxyethane-1,1-diphosphonic acid · 1-Hydroxyethanediphosphonic acid · 1-Hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid · Acetodiphosphonic acid · Acide etidronique · Acido etidronico · Dequest 2010 · Dequest 2015 · Dequest Z 010 · Diphosphonate (base) · Ehdp · Etidronsaeure · Ferrofos 510 · HYDROXYETHYLIDENE-1,1-DIPHOSPHONIC acid · Hydroxyethanediphosphonic acid · M05BA01 · Oxyethylidenediphosphonic acid · Phosphonic acid, P,P'-(1-HYDROXYETHYLIDENE)BIS- · Phosphonic acid, P,P′-(1-hydroxyethylidene)bis- · Turpinal SL · hydroxyethylidenediphosphonic acid · substituted phosphonate
What it does: Used in cosmetics as a chelating agent. Etidronic Acid is the organic diphosphonic acid.
Chelating
Chelating agent
Fragrance
Stabiliser
Is it a concern?: High concern: no hazard classifications on record. It is restricted in EU cosmetics.

Why it's flagged

(1-Hydroxyethylidene)diphosphonic acid and its salts is restricted in cosmetic products under Annex III of the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009.

RestrictedEU EC — restricted

The score describes this ingredient's chemical identity — its hazard profile from published classifications and regulatory status — not the safety of any product it appears in.

Regulation

Restrictions first, then routine listings from published regulatory sources.

In marketed US drugs
EU Annex III — restricted
EU restricted in cosmetics

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Beauty
Cleaning
Pharma
Industrial

EUEC
Annex III of EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009: substances which cosmetic products must not contain except subject to the restrictions laid down. Product types: (a) Hair product (b) Soap Maximum concentration: (a) 1.5% (as etidronic acid) (b) 0.2% (as etidronic acid)
restricted
View source →

EUCosIngActive2 entries
- Etidronic Acid is the organic diphosphonic acid that conforms to the formula Restriction: III/53Source →
- Cosmetics Regulation annex III / ref 53.Source →
GLOBALJECFAEvaluatedJECFA evaluation record.
- JECFA evaluation record.Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 634 composition records across product categories including Furniture and furnishings, Specialty occupational products, Laboratory supplies. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Chelating agent, Fragrance, Oxidizing agent.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 634 composition records across product categories including Furniture and furnishings, Specialty occupational products, Laboratory supplies. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Chelating agent, Fragrance, Oxidizing agent.Source →
USFDAlisted in openFDA substanceopenFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.
- openFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.Source →
USFDAmarketed drug occurrenceFDA NDC lists this ingredient in 1 active drug products and 1 total products.
- FDA NDC lists this ingredient in 1 active drug products and 1 total products.Source →

Expert safety opinions

Independent scientific assessments cited by the records we hold, with the year and link where the record gives one.

SCCS
EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety
No SCCS opinion on file.
CIR
Cosmetic Ingredient Review (US expert panel)
No CIR safety assessment on file.
JECFA
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
- JECFA evaluation record.
  Year not recorded · GLOBAL JECFA listing · Read the source →

Evidence & sources

No graded research studies for Etidronic acid yet. This record is compiled from the published data sources below — registries and regulatory listings, not study findings.

9 data sources

Where this comes from

CosIng
regulatory · updated 2026-09-23
Open →
EU CosIng Cosmetics Regulation Annexes
regulatory · updated 2010-10-17
Open →
EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated september 18, 2015
Open →
EPA DSSTox Identifiers
chemistry · updated 2025-12-29
Open →
FDA National Drug Code Directory
regulatory · updated 2027-12-31
Open →
FDA GSRS UNII
registry · updated 2026-02-26
Open →
WHO JECFA Database
regulatory · updated 2026-10-04
Open →
openFDA Substance
registry · updated 2026-05-24
Open →
PubChem Live Enrichment
chemistry · updated 2026-05-17
Open →

Suitability

Context-specific fit derived from published classifications and the current ingredient evidence profile.

Food use

Food-use source coverage is present in the current record.

Good fit

The ingredient appears in food-oriented source coverage or allowed-use references, which makes food use easier to support than a context with no domain signal at all.

Fragrance avoidance

Not a strong fit for fragrance avoidance because it carries Fragrance.

Avoid

The ingredient itself is a fragrance-linked signal, so it is better treated as an avoid case when fragrance exposure is the main concern.

Where it has been recorded

How often EPA CPDat has listed Etidronic acid in a product composition. These are source records, not Greenveil catalog products.

Source records

634

Named organisations

Furniture and furnishingsSpecialty occupational productsLaboratory suppliesCleaning and safetyIndustrial productsRaw materials

Typical roles

ChelatingChelating agentFragranceStabiliser

See products using Etidronic acid →

Catalog

Found in these products

Their ingredient lists include Etidronic acid; each product's own rating depends on its whole formula, so it is shown on the product page, not here.

See all 464 →Find products without it →

Co-occurrence

Often appears with

Ingredients that frequently appear alongside Etidronic acid in the catalog.