Sodium Benzoate
The short version
A water-soluble preservative effective in acidic foods, especially soft drinks and pickles.
A very common preservative (sodium benzoate). It's approved, but with vitamin C in the same drink it can form traces of benzene (a carcinogen), and it triggers pseudo-allergic reactions in some people. Those caveats are why we flag it.
Safety profile
EFSA (2016) set a group ADI of 5 mg/kg body weight per day for benzoic acid and its salts (as benzoic acid). In 2021 JECFA set a group ADI of 0–20 mg/kg body weight and withdrew its previous 0–5 mg/kg figure. In the presence of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and heat or light, sodium benzoate can form trace amounts of benzene, a known carcinogen. This interaction is the basis of ongoing reformulation efforts in the beverage industry.
Sources
- JECFA — Sodium benzoate (INS 211), evaluation 2021 (92nd meeting) — WHO / Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, 2021. Current JECFA group ADI 0–20 mg/kg bw (replaces 0–5)
- EFSA — Re-evaluation of benzyl alcohol (E 1519) as food additive (2019), summarising EFSA's 2016 re-evaluation of benzoic acid and benzoates (E 210–213) — European Food Safety Authority (EFSA Journal 2019;17(10):5876), 2019. EFSA group ADI of 5 mg/kg bw per day for benzoates
- FDA — Questions and Answers on the Occurrence of Benzene in Soft Drinks and Other Beverages (content current as of 25 February 2022) — US Food and Drug Administration, 2022. Benzene formation from benzoate plus ascorbic acid with heat or light
- Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives, Annex II — consolidated text of 18.08.2026 — Publications Office of the European Union, 2026. EU maximum levels for benzoates by food category
Checked against these sources on .
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