L-Tartaric acid

Drug ingredient

CAS 87-69-4

EPA’s 2023 records show zero U.S. production for this drug ingredient.

US productionZero

Import value, 2024$39M

Import volumeCBI

Confidential Business Information. The EPA withholds this volume because publishing it could reveal the reporting company's trade secrets.

Top sourceItaly 56%

At least one company claimed its 2023 production or import volume for this chemical as confidential, so EPA withholds it.

Why supply is unknown

Production is reported production, not a complete census of factories. Production reporting year: 2023. Import value and source-country shares describe a shared customs category, not a separate chemical measurement.

Where It Comes From

Customs basis: HS 291812 · narrow

EPA reports by year

2023: US production Zero · Imports Confidential
2019: US production Confidential · Imports Confidential

These shares come from HS customs code 291812, which covers 4 tracked chemicals in total. They estimate the category's origin mix, not this chemical specifically.

Source Countries

Country of origin for US imports, from Census customs data (2024).

IT 56%ItalyES 21%SpainCN 13%ChinaAR 6%ArgentinaIL 1%Israel

Mexico
India
United Kingdom
Belgium
Japan

Domestic parents -- activity not disclosed (1)

EPA records name a US company for this chemical but do not disclose whether the company made it here or imported it.

Wintersun International

EPA-registered importers (3)

Companies that report making or importing this chemical to the EPA. Registration is US-centric and does not indicate import origin.

Columbus Chemical Industries

Mapei

Uzin Utz North America

Why It Matters

Sectors

HealthFoodElectronicsConstruction

Downstream Uses

Appears in 3 drug and cosmetic product listings (FDA).

•Joint Tonic R II
•Aller-Chord F
•D02 Digestive Drainage

FDA Shortage Status

Whether any manufacturer currently reports this drug as in shortage on the FDA Drug Shortages database. "Active Shortage" means at least one presentation has status "current."

No FDA shortage records

Industrial Uses

•Cleaning agent in Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing (100%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product

Vendor Pricing

$0.08/gA2B Chem LLC

CountryUnited States

Pack$79.00 / 1 kg

Purity95%

Vendors14 available

Prices reflect listed pack sizes. Small research packs run far above bulk rates.

13 more vendors

Vendor	Country	$/g	Pack	Purity
AA BLOCKS	United States	$0.10	1 kg	97%
Chemscene	United States	$0.11	1 kg	—
Fluorochem EU	Germany	$0.14	1 kg	97%
ALFA AESAR	Germany	$0.19	1 kg	99%
Combi-Blocks, Inc.	United States	$0.25	1 kg	95%
MedChemExpress MCE	Sweden	$0.31	100 g	98%
Interbioscreen	Hong Kong	$10.00	10 g	95%
TargetMol Chemicals	China → United States	$290.00	100 mg	99.98%
Molnova	China	$900.00	50 mg	99%
ChemFaces	China	$1500.00	20 mg	98%
Otava, Ltd. (2 weeks)	Ukraine	$2724.00	50 mg	90%
Princeton BioMolecular Research (SC)	United States	$2900.00	100 mg	90%
Vitas M Chemical Limited	Hong Kong	$3170.00	100 mg	90%

Chemical Identity

CAS87-69-4

PubChem CID444305

DTXSIDDTXSID8023632

FormulaC4H6O6

Mol. Weight150.09 g/mol

SMILESC(C(C(=O)O)O)(C(=O)O)O

Data Sources

EPA CompTox (DSSTox) · DTXSID8023632Retrieved 2026-04-06
PubChem · compound 444305Retrieved 2026-04-06
EPA Chemical Data ReportingReporting year: 2023 · Retrieved 2026-10-04
EPA Chemical Data ReportingReporting year: 2023 · Retrieved 2026-10-04
US Census international tradeReporting year: 2024 · Retrieved 2026-10-04

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Brief citations

L-Tartaric acid (CAS 87-69-4) https://chemicalindependence.com/chemical/87-69-4/ EPA CompTox (DSSTox): DTXSID8023632. Retrieved 2026-04-06. https://comptox.epa.gov/dashboard/chemical/details/DTXSID8023632 PubChem: 444305. Retrieved 2026-04-06. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/444305 EPA Chemical Data Reporting: 87-69-4. Reporting year: 2023. https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-reporting EPA Chemical Data Reporting: CAS 87-69-4. Reporting year: 2023. https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-reporting US Census international trade: HS 291812 for CAS 87-69-4. Reporting year: 2024. https://usatrade.census.gov/