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Data: Fair

Sodium Benzoate

  • Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (moderate) and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low)

SYNONYMS

● BENZOIC ACID, SODIUM SALT
● SODIUM BENZOATE
● SODIUM SALT BENZOIC ACID

Restricted

Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation


Sodium benzoate is a preservative commonly used in foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • LOW
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • MODERATE
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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shampoo1390 products
body wash/cleanser1012 products
conditioner767 products
liquid hand soap429 products
facial moisturizer/treatment417 products
facial cleanser400 products
foundation380 products
serums & essences330 products
hair treatment/serum315 products
moisturizer313 products
mask242 products
baby wipes197 products
hair styling aide186 products
daily use with SPF159 products
concealer155 products
exfoliant/scrub150 products
around-eye cream144 products
mouthwash136 products
toners/astringents119 products
baby shampoo105 products
brow liner104 products
antiperspirant/deodorant84 products
hair color and bleaching81 products
baby soap78 products
makeup remover75 products
mascara74 products
styling gel/lotion72 products
makeup primer68 products
hair spray57 products
hand cream57 products
eye liner56 products
setting powder/spray56 products
toothpaste55 products
bath oil/salts/soak48 products
bubble bath47 products
body spray42 products
detangler40 products
nail polish40 products
styling mousse/foam39 products
bronzer/highlighter38 products
recreational sunscreen36 products
eye shadow32 products
sunless tanning31 products
shaving cream29 products
BB cream29 products
anti-aging28 products
lipstick28 products
body firming lotion26 products
baby lotion23 products
body cleansing wipes23 products
after sun product22 products
hand sanitizer21 products
21 products
facial cleansing wipes19 products
bar soap18 products
facial powder18 products
after shave16 products
lip balm16 products
lip gloss14 products
beard cleanser14 products
baby bubble bath13 products
blush13 products
CC cream11 products
beard care11 products
hair-loss treatment10 products
nail treatment10 products
skin fading/lightener10 products
body oil9 products
eye makeup remover8 products
makeup removing wipes8 products
tooth whitening7 products
foot moisturizer7 products
shaving cream (men's)7 products
fragrance for women7 products
lip plumper7 products
baby sunscreen6 products
tanning oil6 products
baby toothpaste5 products
depilatory5 products
muscle/joint soreness5 products
glitter5 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)4 products
other eye makeup4 products
eyelash glue4 products
fragrance for men3 products
lip balm with SPF3 products
nail glue3 products
damaged skin treatment2 products
polish remover2 products
diaper cream2 products
vapor rubs2 products
hair removal waxes1 products
oil controller1 products
foot cleansing1 products
cuticle treatment1 products
lip liner1 products
body art1 products
hair perm1 products

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Japan - restricted for use in cosmetics (concentration limit)Japan's Standards for Cosmetics
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualificationsCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of sense organ toxicityScorecard.org Toxicity Information
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as a low human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Risk assessment method deficiencies and data gaps - Maximum reported "as used" concentration is basis of safety assessment by industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR) - implicit safe concentration limit in productCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
Insufficient data to determine safetyEPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
1089 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Cancer

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gapsEPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
  • Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 2006. Standards for Cosmetics. Evaluation and Licensing Division. Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau.
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2008. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Evidence for human carcinogenicity based on 1986-2005 guidelines.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Food Additive Status List. Downloaded from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/opa-appa.html, Oct 16, 2006.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED® mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Score legend

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability

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