4-Methylimidazole (4-MEI)

Safety Summary

Regulatory Status

Sources

These citations are the ones recorded for the human adult context.

• IARC Monographs Volume 101: Some Chemicals Present in Industrial and Consumer Products, Food and Drinking-Water — 4-Methylimidazole (4-MEI), Group 2B Classification, Caramel Color Formation, and Mouse Lung Tumor Evidence (2013) ACADEMIC · 2013
• US FDA: Caramel Colors (Classes I–IV) — Safety Assessment, 4-MEI Formation in Ammonia-Process Caramel Colors, Dietary Exposure Estimates, and Consumer Response to Reformulation (2014) REGULATORY · 2014
• California OEHHA: Proposition 65 — 4-Methylimidazole Listing (2011), Significant Exposure Level (16 μg/day), Consumer Reports Testing of Cola Beverages, and Industry Reformulation Response REGULATORY · 2011
• PROPOSITION 65 LIST OF CARCINOGENS OR REPRODUCTIVE TOXICANTS REGULATORY · 2026
• IARC Monographs, List of Classifications REGULATORY · 2026
• identity database ECHA CHEM, Download all substances: REACH registrations (ECHA's own list of REACH-registered substances) REGULATORY · 2026
• where to look PubChem: Toxicity section (CID 13195) PUBCHEM
• Permissible Exposure Limits – OSHA Annotated Table Z-1 REGULATORY
• where to look Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), as recorded by PubChem (Experimental Properties, CID 13195; where-to-look, not a source of this value) DATABASE · 2026
• where to look Haz-Map, Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases, as recorded by PubChem (Experimental Properties, CID 13195; where-to-look, not a source of this value) DATABASE · 2026
• EPA CompTox CTX API: predicted properties for DTXSID9025617 (4-Methylimidazole (4-MEI)) REFERENCE
• ECHA Annex VI to CLP: the unofficial Excel table (up to and including the 23rd ATP) REGULATORY

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