How we scored it
Fermentation acid explicitly listed (fermentation products=1.0); 1.0.
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.
Where it comes from
Manufactured by fermenting a sugar feedstock (typically corn starch or molasses) with Aspergillus niger mold, then isolating the citric acid. This is the dominant global production route today.
In plain English
An acid made by fermenting sugars with a natural mold, chemically the same acid found in citrus fruit. Adjusts and buffers pH and binds trace metals that could destabilize a formula.
CosIng definition: Citric Acid is the organic acid that conforms to the formula:
Structure
2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid
References
- 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
- 2Citric Acid. PubChem CID 311. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3CITRIC ACID. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4CITRIC ACID. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CITRIC%20ACID