Food & Drink / Compounds / Isobutyl acetate

Isobutyl acetate in food: ingestion safety

Moderate risk

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

What is isobutyl acetate?

The IUPAC name is 2-methylpropyl ethanoate.

Also known as: 2-methylpropyl ethanoate, 2-Methylpropyl acetate, Isobutyl ethanoate, Acetic acid, 2-methylpropyl ester.

IUPAC name
2-methylpropyl ethanoate
CAS number
110-19-0
Molecular formula
C6H12O2
Molecular weight
116.16 g/mol
SMILES
CC(C)COC(=O)C
PubChem CID
8038

Risk for people

Moderate risk

Regulatory consensus

3 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Isobutyl acetate. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
FDA
ECHA
EU

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 isobutyl acetate

  • fruits
  • bananas
  • food flavoring
  • beverages
  • confections

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Isobutyl acetate:

  • Ethyl butyrate (natural)
    Trade-offs: Different flavor character (more pineapple vs banana). Natural sourcing available.
    Relative cost: 1.2×

Frequently asked questions

What products contain isobutyl acetate?

Isobutyl acetate appears in: fruits; bananas; food flavoring.

See Isobutyl acetate in the food app

Look up products containing isobutyl acetate, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in food View raw API data

Sources (1)

  1. ATSDR Toxicological Profile — CAS 110-19-0 — reference

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 →