Ammonium hydroxide

Ammonium hydroxide is a solution of ammonia in water, functioning as a weak alkalising agent in food processing. It is used to raise pH in cocoa processing (contributing to the distinctive flavour of Dutch-process cocoa), as a leavening component in certain baked goods, and historically as a meat treatment agent (though this application has faced controversy and restricted use in some markets). Food-grade ammonium hydroxide is used at concentrations that fully evaporate or react during processing.

JECFA's ADI is "not specified," evaluated in 1965. Ammonia is a normal product of amino acid metabolism in the human body. The small amounts of ammonium hydroxide used in food processing evaporate during cooking or are neutralised by food acids, leaving no meaningful residue. No adverse effects have been identified from its regulated food use.

Ammonium hydroxide is approved in the EU, US (GRAS), UK, and globally as a food processing agent. It is encountered primarily in commercially produced cocoa products where alkalization is used to modify flavour and colour. Its controversial use in lean beef processing (where it was used to raise pH to inhibit pathogens) attracted public attention in the early 2010s, but this use is separate from routine food additive use. For the general population there are no safety concerns from its approved applications.