Tert-Butylhydroquinone’s safety

Tert-Butylhydroquinone is used as a preservative for unsaturated vegetable oils and many edible animal fats.

Tert-Butylhydroquinone

Tert-Butylhydroquinone is a highly effective antioxidant.It does not cause discoloration even in the presence of iron, and does not change flavor or odor of the material to which it is added. It can be combined with other preservatives such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). As a food additive, its E number is E319. It is added to a wide range of foods, with the highest limit (1000 mg/kg) permitted for frozen fish and fish products. Its primary advantage is enhancing storage life. It is used industrially as a stabilizer to inhibit autopolymerization of organic peroxides. In perfumery, it is used as a fixative to lower the evaporation rate and improve stability. It is also added to varnishes, lacquers, resins, and oil field additives.


Consuming high doses (between 1 and 4 grams) of Tert-Butylhydroquinone can cause nausea, delirium, collapse, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and vomiting. There are also suggestions that it may lead to hyperactivity in children as well as asthma, rhinitis and dermatitis. It may also further aggravate ADHD symptoms and cause restlessness. Long term, high doses of Tert-Butylhydroquinone in laboratory animals have shown a tendency for them to develop cancerous precursors in their stomachs, as well as cause DNA damage to them. It is also suggested that it may be responsible for affecting estrogen levels in women.


Both the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have evaluated Tert-Butylhydroquinone and determined that it is safe to consume at the concentration allowed in foods.The FDA sets an upper limit of 0.02% of the oil or fat content in foods. At higher doses, it has some negative health effects on lab animals, such as producing precursors to stomach tumors and damage to DNA.A number of studies have shown that prolonged exposure to high doses of Tert-Butylhydroquinone may be carcinogenic, especially for stomach tumors.Other studies, however, have shown opposite effects including inhibition against HCA-induced carcinogenesis (by depression of metabolic activation) for Tert-Butylhydroquinone and other phenolic antioxidants (Tert-Butylhydroquinone was one of several, and not the most potent).The EFSA considers Tert-Butylhydroquinone to be non-carcinogenic.A 1986 review of scientific literature concerning the toxicity of Tert-Butylhydroquinone determined that there is a wide margin of safety between the levels of intake by humans and the doses that produce adverse effects in animal studies.