What is Cinnamyl Phenylacetate?
Cinnamyl phenylacetate is an organic ester compound with the CAS number 7492-65-1. It belongs to the class of synthetic aromatic compounds used in the food industry as a flavoring agent or flavor adjuvant. The compound combines cinnamyl alcohol with phenylacetic acid, creating a chemical with aromatic properties that can contribute to flavor profiles in food and beverage products.
Common Uses
Cinnamyl phenylacetate is used as a flavoring agent in various food applications where aromatic and fruity or floral notes are desired. Like many synthetic flavor compounds, it is employed in small quantities to enhance or modify the sensory characteristics of food products. Its specific applications may include use in beverages, confectionery, baked goods, and other processed foods, though such uses would be subject to regulatory approval in individual jurisdictions.
Safety Assessment
According to FDA records, cinnamyl phenylacetate has zero reported adverse events and zero product recalls associated with its use as a food additive. This lack of adverse event reporting does not indicate extensive safety testing but reflects actual reported incidents in the FDA database.
The compound has not been approved under the FDA's GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) designation. GRAS status requires either a long history of safe use in food or substantial scientific evidence establishing safety. The absence of GRAS status means the compound would require formal FDA approval (through a food additive petition) before use in food in the United States.
Like other synthetic flavor compounds, cinnamyl phenylacetate would typically undergo toxicological evaluation including acute toxicity testing, mutagenicity assessments, and other safety parameters before regulatory consideration. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has not published specific safety assessments for this compound in publicly available records.
Regulatory Status
In the United States, cinnamyl phenylacetate is not listed as a GRAS substance by the FDA. This means it cannot be used as a food additive in the US without specific FDA approval through the food additive petition process. Some food manufacturers or ingredient suppliers may have submitted petitions for approval, but such compounds remain restricted to jurisdictions where they have received explicit regulatory clearance.
Regulatory approval varies by country. Some nations may permit its use under different regulatory frameworks, while others may restrict or prohibit it. Manufacturers and ingredient suppliers operating internationally must comply with each jurisdiction's specific requirements.
Key Studies
Published scientific literature specifically on cinnamyl phenylacetate is limited in publicly available databases. Most information about synthetic flavor compounds comes from general toxicology studies on similar ester-based flavoring agents and structure-activity relationship (SAR) analyses.
Toxicological evaluations of related phenylacetate esters have generally shown low acute toxicity in animal models, though individual compounds require assessment. The lack of specific published safety studies for cinnamyl phenylacetate itself underscores why regulatory approval requires formal safety documentation.
Research on flavor compound metabolism suggests that esters like cinnamyl phenylacetate are typically hydrolyzed in the digestive system into their component parts, which may undergo further metabolic processing. However, specific metabolism data for this compound would be included in regulatory safety dossiers rather than published literature.