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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

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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shampoo1334 products
body wash/cleanser993 products
conditioner746 products
facial moisturizer/treatment423 products
facial cleanser413 products
liquid hand soap412 products
foundation376 products
moisturizer321 products
serums & essences321 products
hair treatment/serum294 products
mask259 products
baby wipes189 products
hair styling aide165 products
concealer162 products
around-eye cream151 products
exfoliant/scrub146 products
toners/astringents135 products
daily use with SPF135 products
mouthwash119 products
baby shampoo97 products
brow liner93 products
antiperspirant/deodorant86 products
hair color and bleaching82 products
makeup remover75 products
mascara74 products
baby soap73 products
styling gel/lotion68 products
makeup primer64 products
bubble bath61 products
bath oil/salts/soak61 products
setting powder/spray60 products
eye liner59 products
hand cream56 products
body spray55 products
toothpaste52 products
hair spray48 products
detangler45 products
43 products
eye shadow40 products
recreational sunscreen37 products
sunless tanning36 products
styling mousse/foam31 products
BB cream31 products
bronzer/highlighter30 products
anti-aging29 products
shaving cream23 products
baby lotion21 products
nail polish21 products
lipstick21 products
after sun product20 products
facial powder20 products
body firming lotion19 products
hand sanitizer19 products
after shave17 products
baby bubble bath15 products
bar soap15 products
beard cleanser15 products
lip balm14 products
facial cleansing wipes14 products
body cleansing wipes12 products
nail treatment11 products
CC cream11 products
hair-loss treatment10 products
beard care10 products
skin fading/lightener9 products
shaving cream (men's)8 products
fragrance for women8 products
tooth whitening7 products
foot moisturizer7 products
eye makeup remover7 products
body oil7 products
makeup removing wipes7 products
blush6 products
baby sunscreen6 products
muscle/joint soreness6 products
tanning oil6 products
baby toothpaste5 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)5 products
glitter5 products
eyelash glue4 products
other eye makeup3 products
oil controller3 products
fragrance for men3 products
lip plumper3 products
depilatory2 products
lip balm with SPF2 products
polish remover2 products
vapor rubs2 products
hair removal waxes1 products
foot cleansing1 products
cuticle treatment1 products
damaged skin treatment1 products
foot odor control1 products
diaper cream1 products
nail glue1 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

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

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

Ecotoxicology

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

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
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

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
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

Can’t find your product?

Enter the ingredients in EWG’s Build Your Own Report tool to get an approximate score for that product.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT

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September 23, 2023 | Los Angeles, CA

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