Sodium propionate is the preservative the food industry lists as E281. In our table it is low risk: it takes 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100).
- The key finding, from EFSA: Covered by the joint E280 to E283 re-evaluation; no ADI allocated but no safety concern at authorised uses; no genotoxicity/carcinogenicity concern (10.2903/j.efsa.2014.3779)
- No child flag. The class, and the points it costs, are the same for a child of any age.
- Where you meet it. It turns up in 4 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts, most often in bread. 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 Sodium propionate 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. Sodium propionate takes 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 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.2014.3779
Covered by the joint E280–E283 re-evaluation; no ADI allocated but no safety concern at authorised uses; no genotoxicity/carcinogenicity concern. -
Peer-reviewed
Tirosh et al., Sci Transl Med 2019; doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aav0120
Propionate impairs insulin action in mice and humans (randomised double-blind human arm). -
FDA
21 CFR §184.1784 (sodium propionate, GRAS)
GRAS in the US as an antimycotic.
Why this class
A credible adverse or precautionary signal that stops short of every Moderate and High criterion: peer-reviewed adverse findings not yet reflected in regulatory status, an exposure exceedance confined to high-percentile or single-event estimates, or a precautionary regulatory step short of those criteria, a reduced ADI, a data limitation noted without an adverse conclusion, a narrowed or conditioned authorisation, or a child-focused assessment or school-food law that covers the additive as part of a class.
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 Sodium propionate (E281) safe for kids?
Low risk. In Sito it takes 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100). The finding we rely on: Covered by the joint E280 to E283 re-evaluation; no ADI allocated but no safety concern at authorised uses; no genotoxicity/carcinogenicity concern (EFSA, 10.2903/j.efsa.2014.3779).
What is E281?
E281 is the E number for Sodium propionate, a preservative. Open Food Facts tags it en:e281.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E281 in our table, then the closest preservatives by number.
- Sodium nitrate (E251), high risk, flagged for young children
- Potassium nitrate (E252), high risk, flagged for young children
- Propionic acid (E280), low risk
- Calcium propionate (E282), low risk
- Boric acid (E284), moderate risk, flagged for young children
- borax (E285), moderate risk, flagged for young children