Lactic Acid

CAS Number: 50-21-5

SERIOUS
health hazard

MODERATE
health hazard

FEW OR NO
health hazards

0 79

80 89

90 100

Sources of exposure:

Personal care

Food

Industrial uses

Description:

Lactic acid is an organic alpha hydroxy acid (AHA). It is used in personal care products to exfoliate and improve skin texture. It is also used as a food additive and in a variety of manufacturing processes.

Health concerns:

Genotoxicity

May cause mutations or damage DNA in cells.

Irritant

May cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation.

Banned/restricted lists:

Government of Canada. List of Ingredients that are Restricted for Use in Cosmetic Products.

References

HOW MILLION MARKER SCORES CHEMICALS

Million Marker's Ingredient Hazard Scoring uses multiple chemical databases and a science-backed scoring system to compute hazard scores for thousands of chemicals found in consumer products and listed on ingredient labels.

We identified key chemicals based on a database compiling dozens of authoritative sources, screening tools, and QSAR models.

Hazard scores within 11 different health categories (carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, reproductive toxicants, developmental toxicants, genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, organ system toxicity, immunotoxicity, respiratory toxicity, skin/eye/respiratory irritants, and ecotoxicity).

They are weighted based on several factors, including strength of evidence for adverse impacts in humans, severity, and potential contamination.