Food & Drink / Compounds / Zinc stearate

Zinc 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 Zinc stearate relevant to people.

What is zinc stearate?

The IUPAC name is zinc bis(octadecanoate).

Also known as: Zinc octadecanoate, Stearic acid zinc salt, 557-05-1, Zinc distearate.

IUPAC name
zinc bis(octadecanoate)
CAS number
557-05-1
Molecular formula
Zn(C18H35O2)2
Molecular weight
632.36 g/mol
SMILES
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)[O-].CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)[O-].[Zn+2]
PubChem CID
11178

Risk for people

Moderate risk

Regulatory consensus

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

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

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 zinc stearate

  • polyvinyl_chloride
  • polyolefins
  • food_packaging
  • polymer_processing
  • rubber_compounds

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Zinc 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 zinc stearate?

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

See Zinc stearate in the food app

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

Open in food View raw API data

Sources (2)
  1. PubChem Compound CID 8853 — database
  2. ATSDR Toxicological Profile — CAS 557-05-1 — 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 →