What happens when you mix sodium benzoate with citric acid?
When potassium or sodium benzoate is mixed with citric acid or vitamin C, these ingredients react by forming a harmful new chemical called benzene. Benzene is a carcinogen associated with leukemia and other blood cancers.
Is citric acid and sodium benzoate same?
Citric Acid: This is a lemon substitute, Sodium Benzoate: This is used as a preservative.
How does sodium benzoate affect pH?
Sodium Benzoate is the inactive salt of benzoic acid. It is soluble in water where it converts to benzoic acid, its active form, at a low pH. Benzoic acid is very pH dependent. While it shows some activity up to pH 6 (about 1.55%), it is most active at pH 3 (94%)….Info.
| pH | % Active Benzoic Acid |
|---|---|
| 7 | 0 |
How is sodium benzoate used as a preservative?
Sodium benzoate is a preservative. The mechanism starts with the absorption of benzoic acid into the cell. If the intracellular pH falls to 5 or lower, the anaerobic fermentation of glucose through phosphofructokinase decreases sharply which inhibits the growth and survival of microorganisms that cause food spoilage.
Is sodium benzoate and citric acid safe for skin?
Since the CIR mentions this in the report, it would be a good idea to avoid skin products with both ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate preservative in them. The CIR report does not mention that a reaction between citric acid and the preservative in question can produce benzene.
How do you neutralize sodium benzoate?
One approach to reducing the toxicity of benzoate is to increase the pH level to convert benzoic acid into the salt form, since the latter is much less toxic [10]. Therefore we evaluated fermentation of Mountain Dew at a pH of 7 compared to pH 4, along with controls testing Pepsi at the same pH levels (Table 8).
Why is sodium benzoate bad?
Studies suggest that sodium benzoate may increase your risk of inflammation, oxidative stress, obesity, ADHD, and allergies. It may also convert to benzene, a potential carcinogen, but the low levels found in beverages are deemed safe.
What is the purpose of sodium benzoate?
In the food industry, sodium benzoate is used to prevent spoilage from harmful bacteria, yeasts, and molds. It also helps maintain freshness in food by helping to slow or prevent changes in color, flavor, PH, and texture. Other foods that commonly include sodium benzoate include: Salad dressings.
Is sodium benzoate harmful for health?
While sodium benzoate is considered safe, scientists have shown that negative side effects occur when it’s mixed with ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Their studies indicate that it then turns into benzene, a known carcinogen that may cause cancer.
What is bad about sodium benzoate?
Sodium Benzoate is used as a preservative to prevent food from molding. While sodium benzoate is considered safe, scientists have shown that negative side effects occur when it’s mixed with ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Their studies indicate that it then turns into benzene, a known carcinogen that may cause cancer.
Is citric acid safe for skin?
Who should use it: Citric acid is generally considered safe for all skin types, except for those with known allergies or especially sensitive skin, says Frieling. However, it can be particularly beneficial for those with oily skin.
Is it citric acid or sodium benzoate that causes cancer?
It must be ascorbic acid for this to occur, NOT citric acid, and here is why… Let me start by telling you the reason it is important to look into this. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies benzene as a Group 1 human carcinogen ( source ). A lot of cosmetic products contain both sodium benzoate and citric acid.
What is the CIR report on sodium benzoate preservative?
The CIR report on sodium benzoate preservative describes a test to examine benzene formation in the beverage samples. The beverages were in the UV stabilized and non-UV stabilized packaging. Some of the samples had 0.04% benzoate and 0.025% ascorbic acid in water.
What happens if you mix vitamin C with sodium benzoate?
Vitamin C and sodium benzoate (a preservative) will together form benzene, which has been associated with causing cancer (International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2007).
Why is citric acid and sodium benzoate preservative important?
Citric acid is important to regulate the pH of a product, and its quantity is usually very small. In conclusion, we do not have to worry about citric acid and sodium benzoate preservative. The concern about carcinogenic benzene development arises only when ascorbic acid and benzoic acid or benzoate salts interact with one another.