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Also known as ?benzoate of soda,? sodium benzoate is the sodium salt of ?benzoic acid,? an FDA-approved, polyunsaturated fat that has been used by food manufacturers for over 80 years to inhibit microbial growth. Sodium benzoate can prevent growth of almost all microorganisms (yeast, bacteria and fungi). It operates best in an acidic environment and it works synergically with other food-grade preservatives ? most notably potassium sorbate. Sodium benzoate is freely found in nature, and even organically grown cranberries or prunes can contain levels of benzoic acid that exceed the legal limit imposed by the FDA on U.S. food manufacturers (0.1% by weight), although the level normally found in berries will be in the range of 0.05 to 0.1%.
Sodium benzoic, as well as benzoic acid are completely SAFE, and like the preservative, potassium sorbate (sorbic acid), have been labeled SAFE by the leading food additive authority, Dr. Michael Jacobsen, founder and president of Center for Science in the Public Interest. In 1954 Dr. W.H. Stein reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society that benzoate is a natural metabolite of the human body. Because commercial sodium benzoate is today made in laboratories, it has sometimes been banned by certain entities in the health food industry. There is no scientific basis for any claim that benzoate is unhealthy. It is a substance natural to the body?s own metabolism, and in this respect is no different in its functioning as a preservative than vinegar (acetic acid).
***information from the Lumen Foods website @ www.soybean.com***
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