Dangers of Sodium Benzoate

Sodium Benzoate is a commonly used preservative in such items as soft drinks, fruit juices, and jams as well as a variety of soya sauces.
This chemical additive serve the important purpose of stopping the growth of bacteria and fungi. It ia also known as E211.

Sodium benzoate occurs naturally in several fruits like apples, plums and cranberries including cloves and cinnamon. The presence does not necessarily act to preserve them.

Although the FDA has previously classified sodium benzoate as a safe preservative, this classification is now being questioned.
Sodium benzoate forms a chemical known as benzene, carcinogenic when taken in the presence of vitamin C.




Another reason sodium benzoate may be considered an unhealthy preservative is its health risk on children.
To this effect, the Coca-Cola Company has announced that it is in the process of phasing out the use of food additive sodium benzoate in Diet Coke in the United Kingdom but could not confirm if any other countries would follow suit. It also say there are no current plans to remove sodium benzoate from any other of its brands, such as Fanta, Sprite, Oasis and regular Coca-Cola.





In 2006. Australian beverage makers are being asked to review existing products and new formulations to minimize the presence of benzene, a carcinogenic chemical recently identified at levels several times the WHO guideline in some US and UK beverage brands.