Food & Drink / Compounds / Succinic acid

Succinic acid in food: ingestion safety

Context-dependent

Safety profile for Succinic acid relevant to people.

What is succinic acid?

Also known as: butanedioic acid, Amber acid, Asuccin, Wormwood acid.

CAS number
110-15-6
Molecular formula
C4H6O4
Molecular weight
118.09 g/mol
SMILES
C(CC(=O)O)C(=O)O
PubChem CID
1110

Risk for people

Context-dependent

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified Succinic acid.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
Regulatory Framework—Regulated under food safety frameworks (FDA GRAS, EU food additive regulations)

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 succinic acid

  • Food — food acidulant, flavor enhancer (E363)

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Succinic acid:

  • Natural alternatives; Minimally processed food
    Trade-offs: Consumer label appeal ('clean label'); variable efficacy depending on food matrix and target pathogen; may alter flavor/color; regulatory status varies by jurisdiction; often more expensive per unit of preservation effect.
    Relative cost: 2-5× conventional

Frequently asked questions

What products contain succinic acid?

Succinic acid appears in: food acidulant (Food); flavor enhancer (E363) (Food).

See Succinic acid in the food app

Look up products containing succinic acid, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in food View raw API data

Sources (1)
  1. PubChem (2026) — database

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 →