Aroma molecule
5-dihydroxybenzoic acid
Smells ofacrid, chemical, fermented
Found in 1 ingredient. We hold no measured concentration for it in any of them yet, so we cannot say where it is strong enough to smell.
Working on a formulation or a product line? This compound data is available by API for R&D teams.
- Formula
- —
- Mass
- 168.15 g/mol
- CAS
- —
- PubChem
- —
- FEMA
- not listed
- Threshold
- —
- Class
- —
- Status
- Aroma-active
01How little it takes
No published odour threshold on file for 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid.
02Where it turns up
- Fruit1
of the 1 ingredient that contain it, by food group
03What it travels with
Too few ingredients to say what it travels with.
What does 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid smell like?
Sources describe it as acrid, chemical, fermented.
How this molecule is described
- acrid, chemical, fermented shown above FlavorDB 2.0
- chemical Flavordb Odor Column
- fermented Flavordb Odor Column
- acrid Flavordb Odor Column
Ordered by how many independent descriptor streams give each wording, then by how often it appears. The bar is replication (one source copied onto many ingredients scores high), not corroboration.
Which foods contain 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid?
We list 1 ingredient 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 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid in it. ✓n = sources that recorded the link.
How strong is 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid?
We hold no published odour threshold for 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, so we cannot say how little of it you could smell.
Is 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid safe to eat?
Not in FEMA GRAS publications 1–33. Of 3,367 listed flavoring substances, none match this compound or its other names. It may still be food-safe under other regulatory routes (FDA 21 CFR 172, EFSA, JECFA); check femaflavor.org for the authoritative current list.
5-dihydroxybenzoic acid questions
What does 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid smell like?
Sources describe 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid as acrid, chemical and fermented.
Which foods contain 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid?
We list 1 ingredient that contain 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid.
Look up another compound — search by name, CAS number, PubChem CID, or FEMA #.
Get a molecule-level pairing breakdown each week — which ingredients share a compound, and why it matters at the table. Free, no spam.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Try the pairing tools to see which ingredient combinations rely on 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, or compare two ingredients side by side.
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid compound data sheet. https://compkitchen.com/compound/5-dihydroxybenzoic%20acid. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compound_5_dihydroxybenzoic_acid_compound_data_sheet_2026,
title = {5-dihydroxybenzoic acid compound data sheet},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compound/5-dihydroxybenzoic%20acid},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.