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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Acetic Acid

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate) and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● ACETIC ACID
● ETHANOIC ACID
● ETHYLIC ACID
● GLACIAL ACETIC ACID
● METHANECARBOXYLIC ACID

Restricted

Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation

Acetic Acid is an organic acid.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • LOW
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • LOW
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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conditioner65 products
shampoo44 products
hair treatment/serum18 products
hair color and bleaching12 products
body wash/cleanser9 products
hair styling aide8 products
moisturizer6 products
facial moisturizer/treatment6 products
liquid hand soap5 products
mask5 products
styling gel/lotion4 products
toners/astringents4 products
exfoliant/scrub3 products
antiperspirant/deodorant3 products
serums & essences3 products
detangler3 products
baby bubble bath2 products
baby shampoo2 products
baby soap2 products
facial cleanser2 products
styling mousse/foam1 products
bronzer/highlighter1 products
CC cream1 products
body firming lotion1 products
toothpaste1 products
daily use with SPF1 products
foot cleansing1 products
baby lotion1 products
bath oil/salts/soak1 products
around-eye cream1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)1 products
makeup primer1 products

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Human respiratory irritant - strong evidenceAssociation of Occupational and Environmental Clinics

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priorityOpen scientific literature

Miscellaneous

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Occupational hazards related to handlingCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinOpen scientific literature

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentOpen scientific literature
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeOpen scientific literature

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
30538 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed
  • AOEC (Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics). 2009. AEOC exposures codes and asthmagen designation.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Food Additive Status List. Downloaded from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/opa-appa.html, Oct 16, 2006.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED® mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

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WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

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