beauty
cleaning
food
pharma

Caprylic acid

CAS 2171005-29-9 · 40/100 · High conf.

Also registered as 1 other CAS number

124-07-2

Concern score

40/100Moderate concern based on regulatory listings.

High confidence

Caprylic acid in plain language

What it is: Also known as Octanoic acid · 1-Heptanecarboxylic acid · KORTACID-0899 · N-octanoic acid · PRIFAC-2901 · Acide octanoique
Show all 28 names
Acidum octanocium · C-8 acid · Natural caprylic-acid · Caprylsaeure · Edenor C 8-98-100 · Enantic acid · Hexacid 898 · Kaprylsaeure · Kortacid 0899 · Kyselina kaprylova · Octansaeure · Octic acid · Octylic acid · acido octanoico · caprylate · caprylic acid (cas 124-07-2) · n-Octoic acid · n-caprylic acid · n-octylic acid · octanic acid · octoic acid · Caprylic acid (constituent of saw palmetto)
What it does: Used in cosmetics as an emulsifier, a cleansing agent and a fragrance ingredient.
Emulsifying
Cleansing
Perfuming
Fragrance
Flavouring agent, antifoaming agent
Emulsifier
Is it a concern?: Moderate concern: no hazard classifications on record. It is listed for cosmetic use in the EU.

Why it's flagged

EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 68 composition records across product categories including Cleaning products and household care, Personal care, Pet and animal care.

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. Caprylic acid appears in these published regulatory listings.

In marketed US drugs

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Beauty
Cleaning

EUCosIngActiveListed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.
- Listed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.Source →
GLOBALJECFAEvaluatedJECFA evaluation record.
- JECFA evaluation record.Source →
GLOBALJECFAACCEPTABLEJECFA evaluation lists ADI ACCEPTABLE. Functional class: flavouring agent, antifoaming agent.
- JECFA evaluation lists ADI ACCEPTABLE. Functional class: flavouring agent, antifoaming agent.Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 68 composition records across product categories including Cleaning products and household care, Personal care, Pet and animal care. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Surfactant (surface active agent), Deodorizer, Emulsifier.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 68 composition records across product categories including Cleaning products and household care, Personal care, Pet and animal care. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Surfactant (surface active agent), Deodorizer, Emulsifier.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 →
USFDAlisted in openFDA substanceopenFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.
- openFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.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 →
- JECFA evaluation lists ADI ACCEPTABLE. Functional class: flavouring agent, antifoaming agent.
  Year not recorded · GLOBAL JECFA listing · Read the source →

Evidence & sources

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

8 data sources

Where this comes from

CosIng
regulatory · updated 2026-09-23
Open →
EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated march 6, 2017
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 Caprylic acid in a product composition. These are source records, not Greenveil catalog products.

Source records

Named organisations

Cleaning products and household carePersonal carePet and animal care

Typical roles

EmulsifyingCleansingPerfumingFragranceFlavouring agent, antifoaming agentEmulsifier

See products using Caprylic acid →

Catalog

Found in these products

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

See all 90 →Find products without it →