beauty
cleaning
food
industrial

Lauric acid

CAS 7632-48-6 · 40/100 · High conf.

Also registered as 4 other CAS numbers

8000-62-2 · 8045-27-0 · 203714-07-2 · 143-07-7

Concern score

40/100Moderate concern based on regulatory listings.

High confidence

Lauric acid in plain language

What it is: Also known as Dodecanoic acid · Dodecoic acid · Laurate · Laurostearic acid · N-dodecanoic acid · 1-Undecanecarboxylic acid
Show all 28 names
Acide laurique · Aliphat No. 4 · Dedaconoic acid · Dodecan acid · Dodecylic acid · Duodecyclic acid · Duodecylic acid · Hydrofol acid 1255 · Hydrofol acid 1295 · Hystrene 9512 · Lauric acid (Dodecanoic acid) · pure Lauric acid · Laurinsaeure · Ninol AA62 Extra · Undecane-1-carboxylic acid · Univol U-314 · Vulvic acid · Wecoline 1295 · puro acido laurico · dodecane acid · lauric acid 96% · Lauric acid (constituent of saw palmetto)
What it does: Used in cosmetics as an emulsifier and a cleansing agent.
Emulsifying
Cleansing
Flavouring agent
Emulsifier
Surfactant
Humectant
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 790 composition records across product categories including Laboratory supplies, Raw materials, Home maintenance.

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. Lauric acid appears in these published regulatory listings.

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Beauty
Cleaning
Industrial

EUCosIngActiveListed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.
- Listed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.Source →
GLOBALJECFANo safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agentJECFA evaluation lists ADI No safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agent. Functional class: flavouring agent.
- JECFA evaluation lists ADI No safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agent. Functional class: flavouring agent.Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 790 composition records across product categories including Laboratory supplies, Raw materials, Home maintenance. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Surfactant (surface active agent), Emulsifier, Cleaning agent.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 790 composition records across product categories including Laboratory supplies, Raw materials, Home maintenance. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Surfactant (surface active agent), Emulsifier, Cleaning agent.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 lists ADI No safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agent. Functional class: flavouring agent.
  Year not recorded · GLOBAL JECFA listing · Read the source →

Evidence & sources

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

7 data sources

Where this comes from

CosIng
regulatory · updated 2026-09-23
Open →
EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated september 18, 2015
Open →
EPA DSSTox Identifiers
chemistry · updated 2025-12-29
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 Lauric acid in a product composition. These are source records, not Greenveil catalog products.

Source records

790

Named organisations

Laboratory suppliesRaw materialsHome maintenanceCleaning products and household carePersonal careCleaning and safety

Typical roles

EmulsifyingCleansingFlavouring agentEmulsifierSurfactantHumectant

See products using Lauric acid →

Catalog

Found in these products

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

See all 356 →Find products without it →