Food & Drink / Compounds / Gibberellic acid (GA3)

Gibberellic acid (GA3) in food: ingestion safety

Low risk

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Essentially non-toxic to mammals. Oral LD50 >5000 mg/kg in rats. No skin irritation. No eye irritation. No evidence of carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, or reproductive toxicity. EPA has granted tolerance exemption for residues on most crops — considers it GRAS-equivalent. Dietary exposure is of negligible concern.

What is gibberellic acid (ga3)?

The IUPAC name is (1R,2R,5S,8S,9S,10R,11S,12S)-5,12-dihydroxy-11-methyl-6-methylidene-2-prop-1-en-2-yl-16-oxapentacyclo[9.3.2.1^{5,8}.0^{1,10}.0^{2,8}]heptadecane-7,15-dione.

Also known as: GA3, Gibberellin A3, Gibberellic acid A3, ProGibb.

IUPAC name
(1R,2R,5S,8S,9S,10R,11S,12S)-5,12-dihydroxy-11-methyl-6-methylidene-2-prop-1-en-2-yl-16-oxapentacyclo[9.3.2.1^{5,8}.0^{1,10}.0^{2,8}]heptadecane-7,15-dione
CAS number
77-06-5
Molecular formula
C19H22O6
Molecular weight
346.37 g/mol
SMILES
CC1C(=O)O[C@@]23CC[C@H](C(=C)[C@H]2[C@@]1(CC3=O)O)C(=C)CC4=CC(=O)O4
PubChem CID
6466

Risk for people

Low risk

Essentially non-toxic to mammals. Oral LD50 >5000 mg/kg in rats. No skin irritation. No eye irritation. No evidence of carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, or reproductive toxicity. EPA has granted tolerance exemption for residues on most crops — considers it GRAS-equivalent. Dietary exposure is of negligible concern.

Regulatory consensus

3 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Gibberellic acid (GA3). The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EPA—Registered pesticide (plant growth regulator). Tolerance exemption (40 CFR 180.1098) — residues exempt from tolerance on all food crops. Reduced risk pesticide.
EU—Approved active substance (Reg. EC 1107/2009). No MRLs required — exempt.
WHO/JMPR—ADI not necessary (1986 evaluation)

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 gibberellic acid (ga3)

  • Agriculture — seedless grape production (berry sizing), citrus (fruit set improvement), cherry (stem elongation, splitting reduction), malting barley (germination acceleration)
  • Horticulture — ornamental plants (stem elongation), seed germination enhancement
  • Food Residues — grapes/raisins, citrus fruits, cherries

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Gibberellic acid (GA3):

  • No alternative needed — GA3 is among the safest crop chemicals
    Trade-offs: Other gibberellins (GA4, GA7) are used for specific applications (e.g., GA4+7 for apple shape). All share extremely low mammalian toxicity.

Frequently asked questions

What products contain gibberellic acid (ga3)?

Gibberellic acid (GA3) appears in: seedless grape production (berry sizing) (agriculture); citrus (fruit set improvement) (agriculture); ornamental plants (stem elongation) (horticulture); seed germination enhancement (horticulture); grapes/raisins (food residues).

Why do regulators disagree about gibberellic acid (ga3)?

Gibberellic acid (GA3) has been classified by 3 agencies including EPA, EU, WHO/JMPR, with differing conclusions. 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. See the regulatory consensus table on this page for the full picture.

See Gibberellic acid (GA3) in the food app

Look up products containing gibberellic acid (ga3), compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in food View raw API data

Sources (1)
  1. — expert_curation

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