Body & Beauty / Compounds / Benzyl acetate

Benzyl acetate on your skin: a safety profile

Low risk

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Fragrance terpene ester/alcohol — generally low toxicity; some members are EU designated allergens (cinnamyl alcohol, citronellol); oxidation products may be more allergenic than parent compound

What is benzyl acetate?

Also known as: Acetic acid benzyl ester, Phenylmethyl acetate, Acetic acid, phenylmethyl ester, Benzyl ethanoate.

IUPAC name
benzyl acetate
CAS number
140-11-4
Molecular formula
C9H10O2
Molecular weight
150.17 g/mol
SMILES
CC(=O)OCC1=CC=CC=C1
PubChem CID
8785

Risk for people

Low risk

Fragrance terpene ester/alcohol — generally low toxicity; some members are EU designated allergens (cinnamyl alcohol, citronellol); oxidation products may be more allergenic than parent compound

Regulatory consensus

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

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
IFRA2024no_restrictionNo IFRA restriction.
FDA1965GRASGRAS food flavoring
NTP1986carcinogen_studyNTP TR-250: Clear evidence of carcinogenicity in male rats

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 benzyl acetate

  • Personal Care — perfume, soap, lotion, shampoo
  • Consumer Products — cleaning products, air fresheners
  • Fragrance — perfume, cologne, scented personal care products, household fragrance products, candles
    Identified in Fragrance Ingredient Safety Priority Research database (2,325 ingredients)

Safer alternatives

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

  • Linalyl acetate
    Trade-offs: Alternative fragrance ingredient; individual safety profile should be assessed per IFRA standards; sensitization potential varies by compound; patch testing recommended for sensitive individuals.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×
  • Phenylethyl acetate
    Trade-offs: Alternative fragrance ingredient; individual safety profile should be assessed per IFRA standards; sensitization potential varies by compound; patch testing recommended for sensitive individuals.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

What products contain benzyl acetate?

Benzyl acetate appears in: perfume (Personal care); soap (Personal care); cleaning products (Consumer products); air fresheners (Consumer products); perfume (Fragrance).

Why do regulators disagree about benzyl acetate?

Benzyl acetate has been classified by 3 agencies including IFRA, FDA, NTP, 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 Benzyl acetate in the body app

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

Open in body View raw API data

Sources (1)
  1. PubChem Compound Database (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 →