food
industrial
pharma

Zinc stearate

CAS 557-05-1

Also registered as 5 other CAS numbers

51731-04-5 · 144188-98-7 · 8028-87-3 · 72535-55-8 · 256482-37-8

Concern score

Not assessed — no hazard data yet.

Zinc stearate in plain language

What it is: Also known as zinc salt Octadecanoic acid · Zinc dioctadecanoate · zinc bis(octadecanoate) · AFCO-Chem ZNS-F · Afco-Disper ZD · Coad
Show all 34 names
Daiwax ZF · Daiwax ZP · Dermarone · Dibasic zinc stearate · Disperso D · Hydense · Hytech · Mathe · Metallac · Metasap 576 · Stavinor ZN-E · zinc salt Stearic acid · Synpro stearate · Talculin Z · Unichem ZS · Zinc Sterate · Zinc distearate · Zinc octadecanoate · Zinci stearas · Zincum stearinicum · Zink distearat · Zn Stearate · puro diestearato de cinc · zinc stearate (containing ing 5) · zinc stearate (pel/tlv as zinc oxide) · zinc stearate (represents <1% of toner) · zinc stearate (tlv given as stearates) · zinc stearate <1% of the toner(<5% of the total product)
What it does: Used in consumer products as a colourant, a surfactant and a thickener.
Colourant
Surfactant
Thickener
Stabiliser
Lubricant
Anti-caking agent
Is it a concern?: We haven't assessed a concern score for this ingredient yet.

Regulation

No restrictions found. Zinc stearate appears in these published regulatory listings.

Inactive ingredient in US drugs

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Pharma
Food
Industrial

USFDAinactive ingredient database12 entries — 4 administration routes
- Route: BUCCAL; Dosage form: TABLET; Potency: 2.5 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: CAPSULE; Potency: 2.04 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: SYRUP; Potency: NASource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET; Maximum daily exposure: 72 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET, COATED; Potency: 1.82 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET, EXTENDED RELEASE; Potency: 36 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET, FILM COATED; Potency: 15.2 mgSource →
- Route: SUBLINGUAL; Dosage form: TABLET; Potency: 2.5 mgSource →
- Route: TOPICAL; Dosage form: CREAM; Potency: 6 %w/wSource →
- Route: TOPICAL; Dosage form: OINTMENT; Potency: NASource →
- Route: TOPICAL; Dosage form: POWDER; Potency: 0.1 mg/mgSource →
- Route: TOPICAL; Dosage form: SHAMPOO; Potency: 2 %w/wSource →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 3335 composition records across product categories including Construction and building materials, Furniture and furnishings, Raw materials. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Surfactant (surface active agent), Viscosity modifier, Dye.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 3335 composition records across product categories including Construction and building materials, Furniture and furnishings, Raw materials. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Surfactant (surface active agent), Viscosity modifier, Dye.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 Zinc stearate. These are the independent scientific bodies that assess ingredients like this one; we show an opinion only when a record we hold cites it.

JECFA
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
No JECFA evaluation on file.
EFSA
European Food Safety Authority
No EFSA opinion on file.

Evidence & sources

No graded research studies for Zinc stearate 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

EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated october 27, 2016
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 →

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 Zinc stearate in a product composition. These are source records, not Greenveil catalog products.

Source records

3,335

Named organisations

Construction and building materialsFurniture and furnishingsRaw materialsFood and drugSpecialty occupational productsElectronics/small appliances

Typical roles

ColourantSurfactantThickenerStabiliserLubricantAnti-caking agent

See products using Zinc stearate →

Catalog

Found in these products

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

See all 89 →Find products without it →