What does Cetalkonium chloride do?

Used in cosmetics as a preservative, an antimicrobial and an antistatic agent.

Is Cetalkonium chloride safe?

We haven't assessed a concern score for this ingredient yet. It is listed for cosmetic use in the EU.

beauty
cleaning
food
industrial

Cetalkonium chloride

CAS 52628-07-6

Also registered as 3 other CAS numbers

60484-28-8 · 89004-36-4 · 122-18-9

Concern score

Not assessed — no hazard data yet.

Cetalkonium chloride in plain language

What it is: Also known as Benzalkonium chloride C16 (BAC C16) · Benzylhexadecyldimethylammonium chloride · Benzenemethanaminium, n-hexadecyl, n,n-dimethyl-, chloride · Cdbac · Cetyl zephiran · N-Benzyl-N,N-dimethylhexadecan-1-aminium chloride
Show all 34 names
benzyl-hexadecyl-dimethylazanium chloride · Ammonium, benzylhexadecyldimethyl-, chloride · Acetoquate CDAC · Acinol · Acquat CDAC · Ammonyx G · Banicol · Baktonium · Benzaletas · Benzalkonium chloride C16 · Benzenemethanaminium, N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethyl, chloride · Benzyl hexadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride · Benzylcetyldimethylammonium chloride · Benzyldimethylhexadecylammonium chloride · Bicetonium · Cetylbenzyldimethylammonium chloride · Cetol · Cetyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride · Cetylon · Cloruro de cetalconio · Dehyquart CBB · Dimethylhexadecylbenzyl ammonium chloride · Dmcbac · N-dimethylbenzenemethanaminium chloride n-hexadecyl-n · Spilan · Tetraseptan · Zettyn · alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride.
What it does: Used in cosmetics as a preservative, an antimicrobial and an antistatic agent.
Preservative
Antimicrobial
Antistatic
Surfactant
Is it a concern?: We haven't assessed a concern score for this ingredient yet. It is listed for cosmetic use in the EU.

Regulation

No restrictions found. Cetalkonium chloride appears in these published regulatory listings.

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Beauty
Cleaning
Pharma
Food
Industrial

EUCosIngActiveRestriction: III/65 V/54
- Restriction: III/65 V/54Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 11 composition records across product categories including Food and drug, Cleaning products and household care, Construction and building materials. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Surfactant (surface active agent), Biocide, Preservative.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 11 composition records across product categories including Food and drug, Cleaning products and household care, Construction and building materials. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Surfactant (surface active agent), Biocide, Preservative.Source →
USFDAlisted in openFDA substanceopenFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.
- openFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.Source →

Expert safety opinions

No expert opinion on file for Cetalkonium chloride. These are the independent scientific bodies that assess ingredients like this one; we show an opinion only when a record we hold cites it.

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.

Evidence & sources

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

6 data sources

Where this comes from

CosIng
regulatory · updated 2026-09-23
Open →
EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated 4 December 2007
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 →
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

Nothing to weigh for this context yet.

No signal in this context

We have no published hazard signal for this ingredient, so we cannot say how it behaves in this context — that is missing evidence, not a clean result.

Fragrance avoidance

Nothing to weigh for this context yet.

No signal in this context

We have no published hazard signal for this ingredient, so we cannot say how it behaves in this context — that is missing evidence, not a clean result.

Where it has been recorded

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

Source records

Named organisations

Food and drugCleaning products and household careConstruction and building materialsCleaning and safetyPersonal careIndustrial products

Typical roles

PreservativeAntimicrobialAntistaticSurfactant

See products using Cetalkonium chloride →