Food & Drink / Compounds / Calcium stearate

Calcium stearate in food: ingestion safety

Moderate risk

Not medical or professional safety advice, and not a substitute for a qualified clinician — consult one. Full disclaimer →

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Safety profile for Calcium stearate relevant to people.

What is calcium stearate?

The IUPAC name is calcium bis(octadecanoate).

Also known as: Calcium octadecanoate, Stearic acid calcium salt, 1592-23-0, Octadecanoic acid, calcium salt.

IUPAC name
calcium bis(octadecanoate)
CAS number
1592-23-0
Molecular formula
Ca(C18H35O2)2
Molecular weight
606.9 g/mol
SMILES
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)[O-].CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)[O-].[Ca+2]
PubChem CID
15324

Risk for people

Moderate risk

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Calcium stearate. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
REACH——No SVHC; no restrictions; safe salt form
FDA——Permitted in food contact applications; widely used

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where you encounter calcium stearate

  • polyvinyl_chloride
  • polyolefins
  • food_packaging
  • polymer_compounds
  • plastic_processing

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Calcium stearate:

  • Bio-based plasticizers (epoxidized soybean oil, citrate esters)
    Trade-offs: Alternative approach; specific tradeoffs depend on application context, scale, and regulatory requirements. Full hazard assessment of alternative recommended before adoption to avoid regrettable substitution.
    Relative cost: 2-5× conventional
  • Non-phthalate plasticizers (DINCH, DEHT) where phthalates are currently used
    Trade-offs: Alternative approach; specific tradeoffs depend on application context, scale, and regulatory requirements. Full hazard assessment of alternative recommended before adoption to avoid regrettable substitution.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×
  • Additive-free polymer formulations where performance allows
    Trade-offs: Alternative approach; specific tradeoffs depend on application context, scale, and regulatory requirements. Full hazard assessment of alternative recommended before adoption to avoid regrettable substitution.
    Relative cost: Lower (ingredient elimination)

Frequently asked questions

What products contain calcium stearate?

Calcium stearate appears in: polyvinyl chloride; polyolefins; food packaging.

See Calcium stearate in the food app

Look up products containing calcium stearate, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in food View raw API data

Sources (2)
  1. PubChem Compound CID 6326 — database
  2. ATSDR Toxicological Profile — CAS 1592-23-0 — reference

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →