Benzoic acid is the preservative the food industry lists as E210. In our table it is high risk: it takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100).
- The key finding, from EFSA: ADI 5 mg/kg bw/day derived from a NOAEL of 500 mg/kg bw/day; group ADI exceeded for toddlers and children (flavoured drinks; and non-brand-loyal scenario once carry-over is counted) (10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4433)
- Flagged for young children. Set only where EFSA’s own exposure assessment shows toddlers or children exceeding or approaching the ADI, or where a regulator used explicitly child-specific language. It is already in our top class, so the flag cannot move it higher.
- Where you meet it. It turns up in 4 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts, most often in soft drinks. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 3 citations from EFSA, peer-reviewed research and the FDA, each one below.
What Benzoic acid does to a score
A packaged food's additive subscore starts at 100 and loses points for each additive on the label; that subscore is a third of the final score. Benzoic acid takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100). Scan the pack in Sito and the score you get is the one for your own child's age, with this additive named in the reasons. How we score has the whole method.
See what is in your own cupboard
Scan a packaged food and Sito names the additives in it, then scores the product out of 100 for your child's age.
What the sources found
Every classification in our table comes from the citations below, and nothing else. Each finding is our one-line summary of what the source concluded, with the source and reference beside it.
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EFSA
10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4433
ADI 5 mg/kg bw/day derived from a NOAEL of 500 mg/kg bw/day; group ADI exceeded for toddlers and children (flavoured drinks; and non-brand-loyal scenario once carry-over is counted). -
Peer-reviewed
Bateman et al., Arch Dis Child 2004; doi:10.1136/adc.2003.031435
Benzoate preservative (with colourings) increased hyperactive behaviour in a general-population sample of 3-year-olds. -
FDA
21 CFR §184.1021 (benzoic acid, GRAS)
GRAS in the US as a chemical preservative.
Why this class
IARC Group 1 or 2A with a dietary exposure route; or EFSA has withdrawn or negated a safety conclusion; or EFSA’s own exposure assessment finds a child age group exceeding the ADI at mean intake; or the substance is banned or formally being phased out for food use by the EU, by the US FDA, or under a US state law.
Our confidence in this row's classification is medium. Medium or low does not mean the evidence is weak; it means something about the row is still being pinned down, usually a regulatory status confirmed from one source rather than two.
Questions parents ask
Is Benzoic acid (E210) safe for kids?
High risk. In Sito it takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100). It is flagged for young children, and it is already in our top class, so the flag cannot move it higher. The finding we rely on: ADI 5 mg/kg bw/day derived from a NOAEL of 500 mg/kg bw/day; group ADI exceeded for toddlers and children (flavoured drinks; and non-brand-loyal scenario once carry-over is counted) (EFSA, 10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4433).
What is E210?
E210 is the E number for Benzoic acid, a preservative. Open Food Facts tags it en:e210.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E210 in our table, then the closest preservatives by number.
- Potassium sorbate (E202), no risk identified
- Sodium benzoate (E211), high risk, flagged for young children
- Potassium benzoate (E212), high risk, flagged for young children
- Calcium benzoate (E213), high risk, flagged for young children
- ethylparaben (E214), low risk
- Sodium ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate (E215), low risk