What does Ethyl maltol do?

Used in cosmetics as a fragrance ingredient.

Is Ethyl maltol safe?

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

beauty
cleaning
industrial
pharma

Ethyl maltol

CAS 4940-11-8

Concern score

Not assessed — no hazard data yet.

Ethyl maltol in plain language

What it is: On cosmetic ingredient lists it appears as “Ethyl hydroxypyrone”.
Also known as Ethyl hydroxypyrone · 2-Ethyl-3-hydroxy-4-pyrone · 2-Ethyl-3-hydroxy-4H-pyran-4-one · 2-ethyl-3-hydroxypyran-4-one · E-637 · Ethylmaltol
Show all 18 names
Ins NO.637 · INS-637 · 2-Ethyl pyromeconic acid · 2-Ethyl-3-hydroxy-4H-pyran-4-one; Ethyl maltol · 2-Ethylpyromeconic acid · 3-Hydroxy-2-ethyl-1,4-pyrone · 3-Hydroxy-2-ethyl-4-pyrone · 3-Hydroxy-2-ethyl-4H-pyran-4-one · 3-Hydroxy-2-ethyl-gamma-pyrone · 4h-pyran-4-one, 2-ethyl-3- hydroxy- · Maltol-ethyl · veltol plus
What it does: Used in cosmetics as a fragrance ingredient.
Perfuming
Fragrance
Colourant
Flavouring
Deodorant
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. Ethyl maltol appears in these published regulatory listings.

Inactive ingredient in US drugs

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Beauty
Cleaning
Industrial

USFDAinactive ingredient database5 entries
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: ELIXIR; Potency: 0.6 mg/15mlSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: POWDER, FOR SUSPENSION; Potency: 10 mg/140mlSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: SOLUTION; Maximum daily exposure: 90 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: SUSPENSION, EXTENDED RELEASE; Maximum daily exposure: 20 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: SYRUP; Maximum daily exposure: 122 mgSource →
EUCosIngActiveListed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.
- Listed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 395 composition records across product categories including Cleaning products and household care, Personal care, Vehicle. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Deodorizer, Fragrance, No specific technical function.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 395 composition records across product categories including Cleaning products and household care, Personal care, Vehicle. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Deodorizer, Fragrance, No specific technical function.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 Ethyl maltol. 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 Ethyl maltol 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 March 2000
Open →
EPA DSSTox Identifiers
chemistry · updated 2025-12-29
Open →
FDA Inactive Ingredient Database
regulatory · updated 2026-01-09
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 →

Allergen profile

Canonical allergen markers detected on this ingredient. Each row is derived from the ingredient’s name or synonyms matching a known allergen class — useful when scanning a label for a specific allergy context.

GlutenContains · Oral (ingested)
Source: chemindex_name_match

Suitability

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

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 Ethyl maltol in a product composition. These are source records, not Greenveil catalog products.

Source records

395

Named organisations

Cleaning products and household carePersonal careVehicleCleaning and safety

Typical roles

PerfumingFragranceColourantFlavouringDeodorant

See products using Ethyl maltol →