Sodium Benzoate
- Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
Other Concerns
Use restrictions (moderate) and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low)SYNONYMS
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.
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LOWCancer
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LOWAllergies & Immunotoxicity
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LOWDevelopmental and Reproductive Toxicity
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MODERATEUse Restrictions
Ingredient concerns
- CONCERNS
- DATA SOURCES
Products with this Ingredient
shampoo | 1387 products |
body wash/cleanser | 1008 products |
conditioner | 768 products |
liquid hand soap | 426 products |
facial moisturizer/treatment | 413 products |
facial cleanser | 396 products |
foundation | 380 products |
serums & essences | 330 products |
hair treatment/serum | 316 products |
moisturizer | 315 products |
mask | 239 products |
baby wipes | 196 products |
hair styling aide | 188 products |
daily use with SPF | 158 products |
concealer | 155 products |
exfoliant/scrub | 149 products |
around-eye cream | 144 products |
mouthwash | 136 products |
toners/astringents | 115 products |
baby shampoo | 105 products |
brow liner | 104 products |
nail polish | 101 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant | 83 products |
hair color and bleaching | 81 products |
baby soap | 77 products |
mascara | 74 products |
makeup remover | 72 products |
styling gel/lotion | 72 products |
makeup primer | 68 products |
hand cream | 57 products |
hair spray | 56 products |
eye liner | 56 products |
setting powder/spray | 55 products |
toothpaste | 54 products |
bath oil/salts/soak | 48 products |
bubble bath | 46 products |
body spray | 42 products |
styling mousse/foam | 39 products |
detangler | 38 products |
bronzer/highlighter | 38 products |
recreational sunscreen | 36 products |
eye shadow | 32 products |
sunless tanning | 30 products |
shaving cream | 29 products |
anti-aging | 28 products |
BB cream | 28 products |
lipstick | 28 products |
body firming lotion | 26 products |
body cleansing wipes | 25 products |
baby lotion | 23 products |
after sun product | 22 products |
hand sanitizer | 21 products |
21 products | |
facial cleansing wipes | 19 products |
bar soap | 18 products |
facial powder | 18 products |
after shave | 16 products |
lip balm | 16 products |
lip gloss | 14 products |
beard cleanser | 14 products |
baby bubble bath | 13 products |
blush | 13 products |
CC cream | 11 products |
hair-loss treatment | 10 products |
skin fading/lightener | 10 products |
beard care | 10 products |
nail treatment | 9 products |
eye makeup remover | 8 products |
body oil | 8 products |
makeup removing wipes | 8 products |
tooth whitening | 7 products |
foot moisturizer | 7 products |
shaving cream (men's) | 7 products |
fragrance for women | 7 products |
lip plumper | 7 products |
baby sunscreen | 6 products |
tanning oil | 6 products |
baby toothpaste | 5 products |
depilatory | 5 products |
muscle/joint soreness | 5 products |
glitter | 5 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's) | 4 products |
other eye makeup | 4 products |
eyelash glue | 4 products |
polish remover | 4 products |
fragrance for men | 3 products |
lip balm with SPF | 3 products |
nail glue | 3 products |
damaged skin treatment | 2 products |
diaper cream | 2 products |
vapor rubs | 2 products |
hair removal waxes | 1 products |
oil controller | 1 products |
foot cleansing | 1 products |
cuticle treatment | 1 products |
lip liner | 1 products |
body art | 1 products |
hair perm | 1 products |
Use restrictions
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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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 qualifications | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Limited evidence of sense organ toxicity | Scorecard.org Toxicity Information |
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Classified as a low human health priority | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Data gaps
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 product | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Insufficient data to determine safety | EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) |
1089 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
Ecotoxicology
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Not suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Multiple, additive exposure sources
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Food Additive Status |
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Everything Added to Food |
Informational
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Not suspected to be persistent | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Cancer
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gaps | EPA 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 SCORESHazard 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.
Data availability
The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.