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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, and 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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shampoo1125 products
body wash/cleanser908 products
conditioner672 products
liquid hand soap429 products
facial moisturizer/treatment383 products
facial cleanser375 products
moisturizer273 products
serums & essences268 products
foundation242 products
hair treatment/serum235 products
mask234 products
baby wipes177 products
around-eye cream128 products
toners/astringents124 products
hair styling aide120 products
exfoliant/scrub116 products
daily use with SPF114 products
mouthwash107 products
baby shampoo86 products
makeup remover84 products
hair color and bleaching82 products
concealer80 products
brow liner79 products
mascara67 products
hand cream64 products
baby soap63 products
setting powder/spray62 products
bath oil/salts/soak61 products
bubble bath57 products
makeup primer55 products
toothpaste52 products
styling gel/lotion49 products
eye liner46 products
body firming lotion43 products
antiperspirant/deodorant43 products
eye shadow41 products
recreational sunscreen40 products
40 products
detangler39 products
body spray39 products
sunless tanning32 products
bronzer/highlighter31 products
styling mousse/foam27 products
hair spray26 products
BB cream26 products
shaving cream25 products
lipstick24 products
CC cream23 products
anti-aging21 products
baby lotion21 products
after shave21 products
nail polish21 products
after sun product20 products
hand sanitizer19 products
facial powder17 products
baby bubble bath16 products
bar soap13 products
lip gloss12 products
beard cleanser12 products
nail treatment11 products
hair-loss treatment10 products
beard care10 products
tooth whitening9 products
shaving cream (men's)9 products
muscle/joint soreness9 products
foot moisturizer7 products
lip balm7 products
skin fading/lightener7 products
baby sunscreen7 products
baby toothpaste6 products
blush6 products
fragrance for women6 products
body oil6 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)5 products
eye makeup remover5 products
glitter5 products
tanning oil4 products
body cleansing wipes4 products
other eye makeup3 products
oil controller3 products
eyelash glue3 products
lip plumper3 products
foot odor control3 products
vapor rubs2 products
facial cleansing wipes2 products
depilatory1 products
hair removal waxes1 products
foot cleansing1 products
cuticle treatment1 products
baby oil1 products
lip balm with SPF1 products
damaged skin treatment1 products
polish remover1 products
diaper cream1 products
makeup removing wipes1 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?

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