Sodium erythorbate

Additive · E316

Sodium erythorbate is an antioxidant used to help foods keep their color and flavor. It also speeds curing in meat products. Known as E 316, this sodium salt is related to vitamin C, but it serves a different role in food.

Also known as

sodium isoascorbate · sodium D-isoascorbate · erythorbic acid, sodium salt · D-araboascorbic acid monosodium salt · D-erythro-hex-2-enonic acid gamma-lactone monosodium salt · E316 · E 316 · INS 316

Why PRūF tracks it

Recent studies linked estimated sodium erythorbate intake with diabetes, cancer and hypertension, despite shared participants, uncertain causation and reassuring older toxicology, with iron absorption and long-term human effects still requiring study.

Read the research

Sodium erythorbate, also called sodium isoascorbate or E 316, slows oxidation and helps cured meat keep its color. It is distinct from erythorbic acid, E 315, and from vitamin C additives. In pumped bacon, U.S. rules require sodium erythorbate or sodium ascorbate to help reduce nitrosamine formation. EFSA retained a daily intake value of 6 milligrams per kilogram of body weight for erythorbates, with exposure evaluated as erythorbic acid; JECFA considered a numerical limit unnecessary for intended food use.

Older animal cancer studies and EFSA’s genetic-toxicity review were reassuring. Three 2026 analyses of the French NutriNet-Santé cohort nevertheless associated higher estimated E 316 intake with type 2 diabetes, overall and breast cancer, and hypertension. The diabetes finding remained after several checks for other dietary and lifestyle factors. These studies used overlapping participants, so they are not independent confirmations, and they cannot show that erythorbate caused disease.

Lower consumers also had elevated risks, weakening a simple dose-response interpretation. No participant exceeded the erythorbate intake value. Small human studies found increased iron absorption from erythorbic acid, which may matter in iron-overload disorders. The review considers these meaningful but unconfirmed human signals, balanced against reassuring toxicology and continued regulated use.

Research reviewed on September 5, 2026 · 11 sources