Why Formaldehyde, MAA, and DCA Control Separates AviGa™ Bio HP70 from Commodity Glycolic Acid
Assay percentage tells you the purity of the primary compound. It does not tell you what else is riding along with it. For conventional glycolic acid, produced through the carbonylation of formaldehyde, a process rooted in petroleum and natural gas feedstocks, trace impurities including residual formaldehyde, methoxyacetic acid (MAA), and dichloroacetic acid (DCA) can remain in the finished material even when the assay reads clean.
This matters more than most spec sheets communicate. Here is what each of these impurities is, why they matter for a cosmetic or pharmaceutical formulation, and what to ask a supplier before assuming a 99 percent assay tells the whole story.
Each of these trace compounds carries its own reason for scrutiny in a regulated formulation.
Formaldehyde: a recognised skin sensitizer and irritant of concern, subject to restriction in cosmetic formulations in a number of markets
Methoxyacetic acid (MAA): a byproduct associated with certain synthesis routes, relevant to safety and toxicological screening in several regulatory frameworks
Dichloroacetic acid (DCA): a chlorinated byproduct relevant to both safety review and environmental assessment
A Certificate of Analysis that reports only an assay percentage and a standard heavy metals panel is not incorrect, it is incomplete for a buyer who needs to understand the full impurity picture. Assay measures how much of the primary compound is present. It does not, on its own, quantify these specific trace byproducts.
Formulators sourcing for regulated, skin-contact, or ingestible applications need to ask specifically for a trace impurity panel that covers formaldehyde, MAA, and DCA, not assume that a high assay number rules them out.
AviGa™ Bio HP70 is produced from a plant-derived feedstock rather than the conventional carbonylation-of-formaldehyde route. Avid Organics has built the manufacturing process around rigorous control of trace impurities, including formaldehyde, methoxyacetic acid, and dichloroacetic acid, the same three compounds commonly associated with petroleum-based glycolic acid production.
This is not a claim about the finished molecule being chemically different. Glycolic acid is glycolic acid regardless of feedstock. It is a claim about what the manufacturing process is specifically built to control for, and it is documented, not assumed.
Does the Certificate of Analysis include a full trace impurity panel, or only assay and standard heavy metals?
What is the synthesis route, and does it involve carbonylation of formaldehyde?
Can documentation confirm MAA and DCA levels are below a stated, specific threshold?
Is impurity data generated on every batch, or is it a one-time process validation?
AviGa™ Bio HP70 is the world's first commercially available bio-based glycolic acid at 70 percent concentration, COSMOS approved by Ecocert, USDA Certified Biobased Product labeled, and REACH registered for the EU market. It is manufactured at Avid Organics' zero-discharge facility in Vadodara, India, on 100 percent renewable electricity.
Request the trace impurity documentation for AviGa™ Bio HP70 at avidorganics.net/en/products/alpha-hydroxy-acids/aviga-bio-hp-70 or contact info@avidorganics.net
No. Assay measures the primary compound's concentration. Trace impurities like formaldehyde, MAA, and DCA require a separate, dedicated test panel to quantify.
It can be a residual byproduct of the common carbonylation-of-formaldehyde production route, present at trace levels depending on the manufacturer's process control.
MAA is a byproduct relevant to safety screening in several regulatory frameworks, so its presence and concentration are worth documenting rather than assuming absent.
No. It depends on the specific manufacturing process. AviGa™ Bio HP70's process is built to control DCA specifically, and that should be verified through documentation rather than assumed from the bio-based label alone.
A trace impurity panel covering formaldehyde, MAA, and DCA specifically, along with the REACH registration and COSMOS attestation where relevant to your market.
