Found Methyl Anthranilate on a label? You’re allowed to ask what it’s doing there. Here’s what it can be used for, who flags it, and what the research says, with a source for every line.
Evidence key Strong Moderate Weak How we grade
Worth a closer look
Scent ingredient
- What it can be used for
- Adds scent (the functions the EU ingredient database, CosIng, lists for it; a product may use it for any of them)
- CAS number
- 134-20-3
Why it’s flagged
Used to add scent: its official function is perfuming or fragrance.
- Listed functions: fragrance. Source: EU CosIng ingredient database
The EU ingredient database (CosIng) lists this ingredient's function as perfuming or fragrance, so it may be there to add scent, even on a label that never says “fragrance.”
What the research says
- Methyl anthranilate, flagged by this 1998 GC-MS/SAR survey as an aromatic amine (a structural class linked to sensitization and other toxicity concerns), was found in 22 of 71 European deodorants tested, a chemical identity a fragrance label would not disclose since it is covered by the generic term 'parfum'. Moderate evidence. Rastogi et al. 1998 (Contact Dermatitis 39:293)
Each finding shows its evidence grade. See every graded fact or how we grade.
Don’t want it on you or in your air? Look for “fragrance-free,” not “unscented.” An unscented product can still contain a masking fragrance. Why the words matter.
Articles that cite these findings
What this page can’t tell you
These lists describe what a substance can do, its hazard. The risk from one product depends on how much is in it and how you use it, and the label doesn’t say how much.
Not being on a list doesn’t make an ingredient safe. It may never have been assessed.
“Fragrance” or “parfum” on a label can hide this ingredient and many others. In the US, the individual chemicals in a fragrance are rarely named on the label.
Check your products
Check a whole labelEWG Skin DeepShop fragrance-free
Flagged the same way
Official lists checked September 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.