Food & Drink / Compounds / Lead acetate

Lead acetate in food: ingestion safety

Severe risk

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

Historic 'sugar of lead' (Pb-acetate) was used as a wine sweetener in Roman antiquity and for hair-dye applications until 2018 — documented chronic poisoning, gout, neurodevelopmental harm. Prop 65 listing as carcinogen + reproductive toxicant; no safe oral exposure level.

What is lead acetate?

The IUPAC name is lead(2+) diacetate.

Also known as: lead(2+) diacetate, Lead(II) acetate, Lead diacetate, Lead di(acetate).

IUPAC name
lead(2+) diacetate
CAS number
301-04-2
Molecular formula
C4H6O4Pb
Molecular weight
325.0 g/mol
SMILES
CC(=O)[O-].CC(=O)[O-].[Pb+2]
PubChem CID
9317

Risk for people

Severe risk

Historic 'sugar of lead' (Pb-acetate) was used as a wine sweetener in Roman antiquity and for hair-dye applications until 2018 — documented chronic poisoning, gout, neurodevelopmental harm. Prop 65 listing as carcinogen + reproductive toxicant; no safe oral exposure level.

Regulatory consensus

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

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
IARC2006Group 2A — Inorganic lead compounds are probably carcinogenic to humans (IARC Monograph Volume 87, 2006); lead acetate (Pb(CH3COO)2; sugar of lead) is an inorganic lead compound with established renal tumor causation in rodent bioassays and epidemiological evidence for lung and stomach cancer in lead workers; classified Group 2A as part of the inorganic lead compounds evaluation
EPA CTX / CalEPA—Known human carcinogen
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: positive (Ames: positive, 7 positive / 7 negative reports)
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: positive (Ames: positive, 7 positive / 7 negative reports)

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 lead acetate

  • Contaminated Water — Mining site runoff, Industrial discharge areas, Drinking water from old infrastructure
  • Soil Contamination — Industrial sites, Smelter areas, Battery recycling facilities
  • Food Chain — Fish from contaminated waters, Shellfish from polluted areas, Crops grown in contaminated soil

Safer alternatives

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

  • Process redesign to avoid hazardous intermediates
    Trade-offs: May require significant R&D investment. Not always feasible.
    Relative cost: 2-5×

Frequently asked questions

Is lead acetate safe for you?

Historic 'sugar of lead' (Pb-acetate) was used as a wine sweetener in Roman antiquity and for hair-dye applications until 2018 — documented chronic poisoning, gout, neurodevelopmental harm. Prop 65 listing as carcinogen + reproductive toxicant; no safe oral exposure level.

What products contain lead acetate?

Lead acetate appears in: Mining site runoff (Contaminated water); Industrial discharge areas (Contaminated water); Industrial sites (Soil contamination); Smelter areas (Soil contamination); Fish from contaminated waters (Food chain).

Why do regulators disagree about lead acetate?

Lead acetate has been classified by 4 agencies including IARC, EPA CTX / CalEPA, EPA CTX / Genetox, EPA CTX / Genetox, 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 Lead acetate in the food app

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

Open in food View raw API data

Sources (4)
  1. IARC Group 2A Inorganic Lead Compounds Vol 87 2006; Lead Acetate Sugar of Lead Roman History Defrutum Sapa; Grecian Formula Hair Darkening FDA Ban 2019; Renal Tubular Carcinoma Rats Mice Lead Acetate Bioassay; ALA Dehydratase Heme Synthesis Inhibition Anemia Porphyria; Neurotoxicity IQ Children No Safe BLL CDC 3.5 μg/dL; OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1025 Lead Standard 50 μg/m3; REACH SVHC Repr 1A H360Df; EU CLP Reproductive Toxicant 1A; WFD Priority Substance EQS 7.2 μg/L (2006) — regulatory
  2. ATSDR Toxicological Profile for Lead (2020) — regulatory
  3. OSHA Lead Standard (29 CFR 1910.1025) — PEL 50 µg/m³ (1978) — regulatory
  4. California Prop 65 listing — Lead acetate (carcinogen + reproductive toxicant) (1987) — regulatory

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 →