What does Sodium polyacrylate do?

Used in consumer products as an emulsifier, a surfactant and a chelating agent.

Is Sodium polyacrylate safe?

Minor concern: no hazard classifications on record.

cleaning
food
industrial
pharma

Sodium polyacrylate

CAS 9003-04-7 · 20/100 · High conf.

Also registered as 68 other CAS numbers

8049-78-3 · 9080-35-7 · 25052-79-3 · 39283-05-1 · 39301-03-6 · 56048-09-0 · 63993-69-1 · 64441-46-9 · 67017-21-4 · 67167-12-8 · 72870-55-4 · 75718-67-1 · 76559-77-8 · 77847-76-8 · 83856-16-0 · 84420-20-2 · 87210-28-4 · 87912-58-1 · 88402-97-5 · 88650-71-9 · 88895-33-4 · 95077-68-2 · 100359-37-3 · 111642-66-1 · 113536-69-9 · 114355-16-7 · 118215-91-1 · 123140-08-9 · 129979-04-0 · 135842-81-8 · 136303-34-9 · 136753-34-9 · 156410-22-9 · 162122-62-5 · 162730-95-2 · 179045-96-6 · 183599-07-7 · 187758-12-9 · 188899-79-8 · 200444-33-3 · +28 more

Concern score

20/100Minor concern based on regulatory listings.

High confidence

Sodium polyacrylate in plain language

What it is: Also known as Sodium polyacrylate (2500000 mw) · sodium salt Polyacrylic acid · Sodium polyacrylate (8000 mw) · Polyacrylic acid, sodium salt (8000 mw) · Sodium acrylate (2500000 mw) · 2-Propenoic acid, homopolymer, sodium salt
Show all 17 names
Acrylic Polymer · Acrylic acid homopolymer sodium salt · Acrylic acid polymer sodium salt · Acrylic acid, polymers, sodium salt · Acrysol HV 1 · Poly(acrylic acid) sodium salt · sodium salt Polyacrylate · Sokalan pa 30 cl · sodium poly acrylate · sodium polyacrylate (orthoboric blend) · sodium polyacrylate (see supplemental for ingredients)
What it does: Used in consumer products as an emulsifier, a surfactant and a chelating agent.
Emulsifier
Surfactant
Chelating agent
Thickener
Film former
Conditioner
Is it a concern?: Minor concern: no hazard classifications on record.

Why it's flagged

EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 1307 composition records across product categories including Construction and building materials, Construction, Furniture and furnishings.

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

No restrictions found. Sodium polyacrylate appears in these published regulatory listings.

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Cleaning
Pharma
Industrial

EUEFSAEFSA opinionScientific Opinion of the Panel on food additives, flavourings, processing aids and materials in contact with food (AFC) on a request related to a 16th list of substances for food contact materials (EFSA AFC)
- Scientific Opinion of the Panel on food additives, flavourings, processing aids and materials in contact with food (AFC) on a request related to a 16th list of substances for food contact materials (EFSA AFC)Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 1307 composition records across product categories including Construction and building materials, Construction, Furniture and furnishings. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Binder, Viscosity modifier, Dispersing agent.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 1307 composition records across product categories including Construction and building materials, Construction, Furniture and furnishings. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Binder, Viscosity modifier, Dispersing agent.Source →
USFDAlisted in openFDA substanceopenFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as polymer.
- openFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as polymer.Source →

Expert safety opinions

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

JECFA
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
No JECFA evaluation on file.
EFSA
European Food Safety Authority
- Scientific Opinion of the Panel on food additives, flavourings, processing aids and materials in contact with food (AFC) on a request related to a 16th list of substances for food contact materials (EFSA AFC)
  2007 · EU EFSA listing · Read the source →

Evidence & sources

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

5 data sources

Where this comes from

EFSA OpenFoodTox
regulatory · updated 2026-10-04
Open →
EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated september 28, 2015
Open →
EPA DSSTox Identifiers
chemistry · updated 2025-12-29
Open →
FDA GSRS UNII
registry · updated 2026-02-26
Open →
openFDA Substance
registry · updated 2026-05-24
Open →

Reference links (1)

Openfda substance

worldaccount.basf.com

Read →

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

No fragrance-linked caution surfaced in the current profile.

Good fit

This ingredient does not currently read as a fragrance-linked driver in the published evidence and hazard profile.

Where it has been recorded

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

Source records

1,307

Named organisations

Construction and building materialsConstructionFurniture and furnishingsLaboratory suppliesSpecialty occupational productsVehicle

Typical roles

EmulsifierSurfactantChelating agentThickenerFilm formerConditioner

See products using Sodium polyacrylate →

Catalog

Found in these products

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

See all 282 →Find products without it →

Co-occurrence

Often appears with

Ingredients that frequently appear alongside Sodium polyacrylate in the catalog.