Sodium propyl p-hydroxybenzoate is the preservative the food industry lists as E217. In our table it is high risk: it takes 30 of the 33 additive points off a product's score for a child.
- High risk. 30 of the 33 additive points come off a product that carries it.
- No child flag. Nothing below is written about children specifically, so the class is the same at every age.
- 3 citations from Law, EFSA, each one below.
What Sodium propyl p-hydroxybenzoate does to a score
A packaged food starts with 33 points for what is in its ingredient list. Sodium propyl p-hydroxybenzoate takes 30 of the 33 additive points off a product's score. 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.
What the sources found
Every classification in our table comes from the citations below, and nothing else. They are quoted as the source wrote them.
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Law
EU: Directive 2006/52/EC of 5 July 2006 (OJ 26.7.2006), Annex I point (3)(a)(i); status re-checked against Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, consolidated text 02008R1333 — EN — 16.12.2024 — 059.001 (EUR-Lex), Annex II Part B 'List of all additives' and Annex III
'the rows for "E 216 Propyl p-hydroxybenzoate" and "E 217 Sodium propyl p‐hydroxybenzoate" are deleted' — E 217 is deleted by name and number, not by read-across. 'E 217' appears nowhere in the current consolidated Union list. -
EFSA
10.2903/j.efsa.2004.83 (AFC Panel opinion on para hydroxybenzoates E214–E219)
The propyl esters were excluded from the methyl/ethyl group ADI on the juvenile-rat sex-hormone and male-reproductive-organ findings with no clear NOAEL; the opinion's scope covers the p-hydroxybenzoates E 214–E 219 including their sodium salts. -
Law
US-CA: AB 418, California Food Safety Act (2023), codified at Health and Safety Code §109025; US-WV: HB 2354 (signed 2025-03-24)
Both statutes ban 'propylparaben' — CA from all food sold in the state from 2027-01-01, WV via the adulteration route (schools in force 2025-08-01; statewide 2028-01-01 preliminarily enjoined Dec 2025). It is not established whether the statutory text extends to the sodium salt; the classification follows the parent acid.
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IARC Group 1 or 2A with a dietary exposure route; or EFSA has withdrawn or negated a safety conclusion; or EFSA’s own exposure assessment finds a child age group exceeding the ADI at mean intake; or the substance is banned or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 high. 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.
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.
Other preservatives in the table
- Calcium bisulphite (E227), high risk
- Potassium bisulphite (E228), high risk
- Potassium nitrite (E249), high risk
- Sodium nitrite (E250), high risk
- Sodium nitrate (E251), high risk
- Potassium nitrate (E252), high risk