What does Sodium nitrate do?

Used in cosmetics as an oral-care ingredient and a soothing agent.

Is Sodium nitrate 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

Sodium nitrate

CAS 15621-57-5

Also registered as 5 other CAS numbers

862599-22-2 · 1401517-04-1 · 1903778-62-0 · 2305917-08-0 · 7631-99-4

Concern score

Not assessed — no hazard data yet.

Sodium nitrate in plain language

What it is: Also known as Chile saltpeter · Cubic niter · Nitric acid sodium salt (1:1) · Soda niter · E-251 · Ins NO.251
Show all 22 names
INS-251 · Natriumnitrat · Nitrate de sodium · Nitrate of soda · Nitratine · Nitric acid monosodium salt · sodium salt Nitric acid · Saltpeter (Chile) · Sodium nitrate(DOT) · Sodium saltpeter · etabisulfite · potassium ferricyanide(60-65%)(cas #13746-66-2) · sodium (i) nitrate (1:1) · sodium nitrate (cas #7631-99-4) · sodium nitrate(30-35%) (cas #7631-99-4) · Natrum nitricum
What it does: Used in cosmetics as an oral-care ingredient and a soothing agent.
Oral care
Soothing
Preservative
Humectant
Flavouring
Bleaching agent
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. Sodium nitrate appears in these published regulatory listings.

In marketed US drugs
Inactive ingredient in US drugs

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Cleaning
Industrial

EUCosIngActiveListed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.
- Listed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 380 composition records across product categories including Laboratory supplies, Industrial products, Specialty occupational products. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Preservative, Corrosion inhibitor, Bleaching agent.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 380 composition records across product categories including Laboratory supplies, Industrial products, Specialty occupational products. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Preservative, Corrosion inhibitor, Bleaching agent.Source →
USFDAinactive ingredient databaseRoute: OPHTHALMIC; Dosage form: SOLUTION; Potency: 1.18 %w/w
- Route: OPHTHALMIC; Dosage form: SOLUTION; Potency: 1.18 %w/wSource →
USFDAmarketed drug occurrenceFDA NDC lists this ingredient in 17 active drug products and 17 total products.
- FDA NDC lists this ingredient in 17 active drug products and 17 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

No expert opinion on file for Sodium nitrate. 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 Sodium nitrate 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 november 6, 2019
Open →
EPA DSSTox Identifiers
chemistry · updated 2025-12-29
Open →
FDA Inactive Ingredient Database
regulatory · updated 2026-01-09
Open →
FDA National Drug Code Directory
regulatory · updated 2026-12-31
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 →

Reference links (1)

Openfda substance

codexalimentarius.net

Read →

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.

SulphitesContains · Oral (ingested)
Source: chemindex_name_match

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 Sodium nitrate in a product composition. These are source records, not Greenveil catalog products.

Source records

380

Named organisations

Laboratory suppliesIndustrial productsSpecialty occupational productsVehicleRaw materialsHome maintenance

Typical roles

Oral careSoothingPreservativeHumectantFlavouringBleaching agent

See products using Sodium nitrate →

Catalog

Found in these products

Cosmetic and personal-care products that list Sodium nitrate are shown first. Their ingredient lists include Sodium nitrate; each product's own rating depends on its whole formula, so it is shown on the product page, not here.

See all 16 →Find products without it →