Aroma molecule · alcohol
2-octenol
Smells offatty and oily
Found in 2 ingredients. We hold no measured concentration for it in any of them yet, so we cannot say where it is strong enough to smell.
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01How little it takes
- in water 20
- in a food 20
- in alcoholpapers disagree 20
- in oilpapers disagree 0.075
ppb, log scale · tick = median of published values, bar = full range, from open-access paper tables (not reviewed)
02Where it turns up
- Fruit1
- Grains, nuts & fats1
of the 2 ingredients that contain it, by food group
03What it travels with
Too few ingredients to say what it travels with.
What does 2-octenol smell like?
Sources describe it as fatty and oily.
Which foods contain 2-octenol?
We list 2 ingredients that contain it, but presence is not the same as smell. What matters is how much is there compared with how little it takes to notice it. That ratio is the odour activity value (OAV): above 1, you can smell it.
Found in
Measured foods first, then real food profiles, then thin or composite records (marked). The figure beside each is how many compounds that ingredient has in total, not the amount of 2-octenol in it. ✓n = sources that recorded the link.
How strong is 2-octenol?
Our working odour threshold is 20.0 ppb.
Thresholds in published tables
| Medium | Median | Range | Values | Papers | Papers agree? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| air | 840 µg/L air | 840–840 | 1 | 1 | one paper |
| ethanol solution | 20 ppb | 20–20 | 1 | 1 | one paper |
| food matrix | 20 ppb | 4–50 | 9 | 8 | yes |
| oil | 0.075 ppb | 0.075–0.075 | 1 | 1 | one paper |
| unstated | 20 ppb | 0.075–100 | 27 | 24 | yes |
| water | 20 ppb | 0.04–185 | 12 | 12 | yes |
Numbers printed in open-access papers, grouped by the medium the table states. Median and full range; “agree” means two or more papers whose middle 80% of values sit within 100×. Not reviewed.
- Retention index
- 1064
Is 2-octenol safe to eat?
A substance matching this name is listed by FEMA as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as a flavoring: FEMA number 4615, published in GRAS 24. Check current FDA and EFSA guidance for your market and use level.
- FEMA number
- 4615 ~ likely match
- Publication
- GRAS 24
- FEMA name
- cis-2-Octenol cis-2-Octen-1-ol
| Food category | Typical | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| soups | 0.1 | 0.5 |
Typical vs maximum reported addition levels in finished food. A regulatory ceiling reference; verify against the current GRAS publication for your product category.
Source: FEMA GRAS publications 1–33.
2-octenol questions
What does 2-octenol smell like?
Sources describe 2-octenol as fatty and oily.
Which foods contain 2-octenol?
We list 2 ingredients that contain 2-octenol.
How strong is 2-octenol?
Our working odour threshold for 2-octenol is 20 ppb.
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Try the pairing tools to see which ingredient combinations rely on 2-octenol, or compare two ingredients side by side.
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). 2-octenol compound data sheet. https://compkitchen.com/compound/2-octenol. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compound_2_octenol_compound_data_sheet_2026,
title = {2-octenol compound data sheet},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compound/2-octenol},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.