What Is Glycerin?
Federal food rules at 21 CFR 182.1320 say glycerin is generally recognized as safe when used in accordance with good manufacturing practice, and the FDA over-the-counter skin protectant rule at 21 CFR 347.10 lists glycerin at 20 to 45 percent among its approved active ingredients. A 2024 randomized trial in Scientific Reports describes glycerin as a well-known humectant that improves skin hydration.
Contaminated glycerin has caused deadly poisonings. The FDA says it has received and continues to receive reports, most recently in early 2023, of fatal poisonings of consumers who took liquid drug products, such as cough, allergy, pain and anti-nausea medicines, made with components contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG) or ethylene glycol (EG). It says the manufacturers of the liquid drug products that contained contaminated glycerin did not perform full identity testing on the glycerin, including tests to measure the amount of DEG and verify its purity, and that its manufacturing rules require identity testing to verify each component of a drug product, using specific identity tests where they exist.
Sources checked September 15, 2026. Every point below links the page it came from.
The sources behind this answer
- Regulatory filingFederal rules at 21 CFR 182.1320 say glycerin is generally recognized as safe in food when used in accordance with good manufacturing practice. US FDA, 21 CFR 182.1320 (eCFR) ↗
- Regulatory filingThe FDA over-the-counter skin protectant rule lists glycerin at 20 to 45 percent as an approved active ingredient. US FDA, 21 CFR 347.10 (eCFR) ↗
- Government sourceThe FDA says it has received reports, most recently in early 2023, of fatal poisonings from liquid drugs made with components contaminated with diethylene or ethylene glycol. US FDA ↗
- Government sourceThe FDA says makers of drugs with contaminated glycerin did not fully test the glycerin, including for the amount of diethylene glycol present. US FDA ↗
- Regulatory filingThe FDA says its manufacturing rules require identity testing to verify each drug component, using specific identity tests where they exist. US FDA ↗
- StudyA 2024 randomized trial describes glycerin as a well-known humectant that improves skin hydration. Scientific Reports, via PubMed Central ↗
Sources checked September 15, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.