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Sodium benzoate also known as benzoate of soda is the sodium salt of benzoic acid, widely used as a food preservative (with an E number of E211) and a pickling agent. It appears as a white crystalline chemical with the formula C 6 H 5 COONa.
Research has increasingly found chemicals and other worrisome materials in many products that come into contact with food. Most recently, a study found high levels of toxic flame retardants in ...
A food contaminant is a harmful chemical or microorganism present in food, which can cause illness to the consumer.. Contaminated food . The impact of chemical contaminants on consumer health and well-being is often apparent only after many years of processing and prolonged exposure at low levels (e.g., cancer).
Sodium nitrite is a preservative used in lunch meats, hams, sausages, hot dogs, and bacon to prevent botulism and other foodborne pathogens. It serves the important function of controlling the bacteria that cause botulism, but sodium nitrite can react with proteins, or during cooking at high heats, to form carcinogenic N-nitrosamines.
As of August 2012, Coca-Cola Zero and Barq's root beer still contained benzoate (added as potassium salt and sodium salt respectively). [ 30 ] A Belgian study found that plastic packaging may play an important role in the formation of benzene in soft drinks.
In commercial pickling, a preservative such as sodium benzoate or EDTA may also be added to enhance shelf life. In fermentation pickling, the food itself produces the preservation agent, typically by a process involving Lactobacillus bacteria that produce lactic acid as the preservative agent.
Additives are used for many purposes but the main uses are: Acids Food acids are added to make flavors "sharper", and also act as preservatives and antioxidants. Common food acids include vinegar, citric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, folic acid, fumaric acid, and lactic acid.
Common antimicrobial preservatives include nisin, sorbates, calcium propionate, sodium nitrate/nitrite, sulfites (sulfur dioxide, sodium bisulfite, potassium hydrogen sulfite, etc.), EDTA, hinokitiol, and ε-polylysine. Antioxidants include tocopherols (Vitamin E), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT).