Sodium benzoate

What this is

Sodium benzoate helps acidic drinks, sauces and other foods resist spoilage. Some sensitive people can develop intolerance or allergic reactions, although an ingredient list alone cannot establish the cause of symptoms. International safety assessments found no genotoxicity concern or indication of cancer potential in the evaluated evidence. JECFA raised its group acceptable daily intake to 20 mg/kg body weight per day in 2021; EFSA’s 2016 assessment set 5 mg/kg, both expressed as benzoic acid. These values use different evidence and assumptions, and neither is a recommended intake. EFSA’s earlier estimates exceeded its value for some young high consumers, while JECFA found assessed exposure below its newer value. Small recent rat studies reported hormonal and reproductive-tissue changes, but they do not establish infertility from ordinary food use. A 2025 asthma study measured benzoic acid in children and used much higher sodium benzoate exposure in mice, leaving ingredient-specific causation uncertain. A child trial testing colors together with sodium benzoate could not separate their effects; a later trial testing sodium benzoate separately found no significant behavioral effect. Benzene formation in certain beverages is a separate formulation concern; FDA’s historical survey prompted reformulation, and JECFA judged assessed dietary exposure of little public-health concern.

Safety Review

The health areas reviewed when evaluating an ingredient. This does not mean the ingredient is proven to cause harm.

JECFA’s assessment found no genotoxicity concern or cancer signal in the evaluated evidence, established a group intake value of 20 mg/kg body weight per day as benzoic acid, and identified intolerance or allergy as a concern for sensitive individuals. EFSA’s earlier 5 mg/kg value and modeled exceedances among some young high consumers show that exposure assumptions matter, while newer small rat studies and a high-dose mouse asthma model raise questions that do not demonstrate ordinary-food reproductive or immune harm in people. Child-behavior evidence includes both an inseparable color-preservative mixture signal and a later sodium-benzoate-only trial with no significant effect, so ingredient-specific causation remains unproven. Benzene is a distinct possible beverage contaminant; the historical FDA survey and JECFA assessment do not justify calling sodium benzoate itself a carcinogen.