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E319Antioxidant

Tertiary-butylhydroquinone (tbhq)

What the research shows

Concerning

in animal and lab studies only

A man-made chemical that is a type of phenol.1

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • EU permitted

What research says

Animal and lab studies only

  • Concern

    Immune cell activation4

    In lab studies, tBHQ reduced activation of human immune T cells, and this matched reduced NFκB binding.

  • Concern

    How the body breaks it down5

    In lab studies, TBHQ formed several breakdown products in human and rat liver samples, including some not seen before.

Study type not stated

How it’s made and used

  • Daily intake levels2

    In Brazil, average consumers' daily TBHQ intake was unlikely to exceed the recommended limit.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.

What expert reviews concluded

Expert panels that weigh all the research. Shown for context: the signal at the top does not count them.

Regulatory status

Checked Sep 2026

Status reflects the named register on the date checked. It is not a safety rating. A country appears here once we've found this ingredient on its official list.

How we check

Products

The 6 most-scanned of 3,467 products on Open Food Facts that list tertiary-butylhydroquinone (tbhq).

  • Sriracha sauce mayo Flying Goose Brand · 455 ml 6 additives
  • Curry Flavour YumYum · 60 g 12 additives
  • Peanut Butter Cups minis unwrapped Reese's · 90 g 4 additives
  • Top Ramen Chicken Flavor Nissin · 3 oz 8 additives
  • Mi Goreng Fry Noodles Indomie · 80 g 9 additives
  • Cheez-It Cheez-It · 2 x 24 oz (1 lb 8 oz) 680 g / 48 oz (3 lb) 1.36 kg 3 additives

References

  1. 1Tert-Butylhydroquinone. Wikipedia. Accessed September 26, 2026. CC BY-SA 4.0.
  2. 2Maziero GC, Baunwart C, Toledo MC. Estimates of the theoretical maximum daily intake of phenolic antioxidants BHA, BHT and TBHQ in Brazil. Food Addit Contam. 2001;18(5):365-73. doi:10.1080/02652030120645
  3. 3Esazadeh K, Ezzati Nazhad Dolatabadi J, Andishmand H, et al. Cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of tert-butylhydroquinone, butylated hydroxyanisole and propyl gallate as synthetic food antioxidants. Food Sci Nutr. 2024;12(10):7004-7016. doi:10.1002/fsn3.4373
  4. 4Turley AE, Zagorski JW, Rockwell CE. The Nrf2 activator tBHQ inhibits T cell activation of primary human CD4 T cells. Cytokine. 2015;71(2):289-95. doi:10.1016/j.cyto.2014.11.006
  5. 5Ousji O, Sleno L. Identification of In Vitro Metabolites of Synthetic Phenolic Antioxidants BHT, BHA, and TBHQ by LC-HRMS/MS. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(24). doi:10.3390/ijms21249525