# Synthetic petroleum wax — Food additive regulatory approval status — US FDA vs EU

For Synthetic petroleum wax, jurisdiction is US FDA (21 CFR 172–178); status is permitted; citation is 21 CFR 172.888; use conditions is in or on foods in accordance with the following conditions:   ( a ) Synthetic petroleum wax is a mixture of solid hydrocarbons, paraffinic in nature, prepared by either catalytic polymerization of ethylene or copolymerization of ethylene with linear (C 3 to C 12 ) alpha-olefins, and refined to me, recorded from its source on 2026-08-15.

- **Additive:** Synthetic petroleum wax _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Jurisdiction:** US FDA (21 CFR 172–178) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Status:** permitted _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Citation:** 21 CFR 172.888 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Use conditions:** in or on foods in accordance with the following conditions:   ( a ) Synthetic petroleum wax is a mixture of solid hydrocarbons, paraffinic in nature, prepared by either catalytic polymerization of ethylene or copolymerization of ethylene with linear (C 3 to C 12 ) alpha-olefins, and refined to me...

## What the source says

> ( c ) Synthetic petroleum wax has a number average molecular weight of not less than 500 nor greater than 1,200 as determined by vapor pressure osmometry. ( d ) Synthetic petroleum wax may contain any antioxidant permitted

## Source

- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-172

Last verified: 2026-08-15. Review by: 2027-08-15.
Part of [Food additive regulatory approval status — US FDA vs EU](https://referencesource.org/food-additive-approval-status-us-vs-eu/).