The organic compound methyl acetoacetate is the methyl ester of acetoacetic acid. It is a colorless liquid. It is used as a chemical intermediate. Many of its properties are similar to those for ethyl acetoacetate, which is more common.
At large scale, methyl acetoacetate is industrially produced by treatment of diketene with methanol.[1]
Methyl acetoacetate has low toxicity to animals. It is highly biodegradable.[1]