Is azodicarbonamide banned? Where it's allowed, where it isn't, and what FDA's review means
Where azodicarbonamide is allowed
United States
Permitted with conditionsUnder federal rules, 21 CFR 172.806 allows ADA in cereal flour and as a bread dough conditioner, at no more than 0.0045% (45 ppm) of the flour in total. FDA added ADA to its chemicals-under-review list in August 2025 and published a request for information on 13 May 2026 (comments closed 13 July). Its list page, current as of 2 October 2026, shows the first step, 'Review of Information', and no regulatory action. [1, 7, 8, 9]
Canada
Permitted with conditionsHealth Canada's List of Permitted Flour Treatment Agents (published 18 December 2024) lists azodicarbonamide at item A.4: in bread, and in white and whole wheat flour, as a flour treatment agent, up to 45 ppm (for bread, 45 ppm of the flour). [2]
European Union
Not permittedE 927a is not on the Union list of authorised additives in Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 (consolidated text of 18 August 2026), and Article 4 allows only listed additives. In 2019 the European Commission told Codex: 'Azodicarbonamide is not authorised as a food additive in the EU.' EFSA's 2005 news item also calls ADA's use as a dough improver illegal in the EU. [3, 4, 10]
What is azodicarbonamide?
Azodicarbonamide is a synthetic chemical with two careers. According to a 1999 WHO assessment, its main industrial use is as a blowing agent that puffs up plastics and rubber. In food it is a flour treatment agent, hence the additive number E927a (INS 927a).
ADA does not stay intact in bread. An FDA poster reports that baking breaks it down into biurea, semicarbazide (SEM) and urazole, and FDA's 2026 request for information also asks about ethyl carbamate. Regulators have focused more on these breakdown products than on ADA itself.
Why it's used, and where you'll find it
FDA describes ADA as a whitening agent for cereal flour and a dough conditioner in bread baking. Its FAQ adds that ADA is not necessary to make bread and that other approved ingredients are available.
What the research and regulators say
What FDA has concluded so far
FDA says its approval rested on safety studies, including multi-year feeding studies. Its FAQ (current as of 2018) says semicarbazide, at high doses, increased tumours in female mice but not in male mice or in rats of either sex, at levels far above estimated human exposure, and FDA did not recommend dietary changes. That exposure estimate drew on roughly 250 analysed bread products. FDA's 2026 notice says it previously concluded the authorised uses to be safe, but new information may require reconsideration. [5, 6, 8]
Cancer classifications for breakdown products
IARC's current list (data dated July 2026) has no entry for azodicarbonamide. It places semicarbazide hydrochloride, the salt form, in Group 3, 'not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans' (1987), and ethyl carbamate (urethane) in Group 2A, 'probably carcinogenic to humans' (evaluated 2007). WHO's 1999 assessment says data indicate ethyl carbamate forms in bread and beer after ADA is added, and that public exposure to ADA could not be evaluated. A classification describes the chemical in general, not trace amounts in a slice of bread. [11, 13, 15]
The jar-lid findings in Europe
In 2005 EFSA reported that semicarbazide in jarred foods such as baby food came mainly from ADA used as a foaming agent in lid gaskets. It found carcinogenicity not of concern for human health at the 2003 and 2004 levels in glass-packaged foods, and called ADA breakdown in imported bread a minor source. A 2004 Commission directive, citing the precautionary principle, prohibited ADA as a blowing agent in food-contact plastics from 2 August 2005. [10, 14]
Workplace asthma and the international view
WHO's 1999 assessment concluded ADA is a human asthmagen, based on bronchial challenge studies and workplace evaluations; its concern was workers exposed to the powder. JECFA set an acceptable treatment level of 0 to 45 mg per kg of flour in 1965, but its database now records the acceptable daily intake as no longer supported: the Codex food additives committee (CCFA53, 2023) withdrew it after a safety concern was raised and no data were offered for re-evaluation. [11, 12]
Who might choose to avoid it
The sources cited here do not single out eaters who must avoid ADA at permitted levels. WHO flagged workers exposed to the powder in industry. Some shoppers skip ADA because the EU does not authorise it, because FDA is reassessing it, or because bread can be made without it.
How to spot it on a label
Look for azodicarbonamide, ADA, E927a or INS 927a, mainly in bread, buns, bagels and similar baked goods. FDA says intentionally added ingredients must be listed, so it should appear by name.
Check what's in your own productsScan a barcode or a label photo and Label X-Ray flags azodicarbonamide and everything else in plain English, with your allergies checked automatically.
Frequently asked questions
Is azodicarbonamide banned in Europe?
It is not authorised: E 927a is absent from the EU's Annex II list, and only listed additives may be used. The European Commission said so to Codex in 2019. The legal text gives no reason.
Is azodicarbonamide banned in Canada?
No. Health Canada's List of Permitted Flour Treatment Agents includes it at item A.4: in bread and in white and whole wheat flour, up to 45 ppm.
Is azodicarbonamide banned in the US?
No. Federal rule 21 CFR 172.806 allows it in flour and bread at up to 45 ppm of the flour. FDA's reassessment had produced no regulatory action as of 2 October 2026. This covers federal rules, not state laws.
Is azodicarbonamide used in yoga mats?
It is used industrially to puff up plastics and rubber, which WHO names as its main use, and FDA rules also allow it in container gaskets, repeated-use rubber articles and foamed plastics. The sources reviewed here do not name specific products such as yoga mats.
Is azodicarbonamide safe to eat?
FDA's position, current as of 2018, is that it is safe at the permitted level. FDA is now re-examining that, and no conclusion has been published.
Why is azodicarbonamide in bread?
FDA lists it as a flour whitener and dough conditioner, and says it is not necessary to make bread.
Related ingredients
Sources
- U.S. eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) — 21 CFR 172.806 - Azodicarbonamide (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Health Canada — 2. List of Permitted Flour Treatment Agents (Lists of Permitted Food Additives) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- EU Publications Office (EUR-Lex consolidated text) — Consolidated text: Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives (version of 18 August 2026) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- European Commission (DG SANTE) — Codex CCFA51 agenda item 4b: EU comments, 'Safety concerns on Azodicarbonamide (INS 927a)' (accessed 2026-10-20)
- U.S. FDA — Azodicarbonamide (ADA) Frequently Asked Questions (accessed 2026-10-20)
- U.S. FDA — Exposure Estimate for Semicarbazide from the Use of Azodicarbonamide in Bread for the U.S. Population (accessed 2026-10-20)
- U.S. FDA — FDA Finalizes Food Chemical Safety Post-Market Assessment Program, Launches Reassessment of BHT, ADA (accessed 2026-10-20)
- U.S. FDA (Federal Register, 91 FR 27060, Docket FDA-2026-N-4126) — Azodicarbonamide (ADA); Request for Information (accessed 2026-10-20)
- U.S. FDA — List of Select Chemicals in the Food Supply Under FDA Review (accessed 2026-10-20)
- EFSA — EFSA publishes further evaluation on semicarbazide in food (accessed 2026-10-20)
- WHO / IPCS (via INCHEM) — Concise International Chemical Assessment Document 16: Azodicarbonamide (accessed 2026-10-20)
- WHO/FAO JECFA — Azodicarbonamide (JECFA database) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- IARC — IARC Monographs: List of Classifications (data dated 23 July 2026) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- European Commission (Official Journal of the EU) — Commission Directive 2004/1/EC of 6 January 2004 amending Directive 2002/72/EC as regards the suspension of the use of azodicarbonamide as blowing agent (accessed 2026-10-20)
- IARC — Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs (accessed 2026-10-20)
This page summarizes what regulators and published research say, as of the review date above. Rules and evidence change; check the linked sources for the latest. It is general information, not medical advice — talk to a doctor or pharmacist about your own health.