Life One And Sodium Benzonate

Sodium benzoate is a type of salt that occurs naturally in some foods but is more likely to be chemically produced and added as a food preservative. When used as a preservative, sodium benzoate is typically added to foods in only small amounts. The FDA allows a maximum concentration of 0.1 percent as a preservative. Food may taste bitter if more is added.

Sodium benzoate has been the subject of extensive experimentation: it has been tested in long-term and short-term feeding experiments in man, dogs, rats and mice.

In one experiment in Germany, four generations of rats were continuously exposed to 0.05 or 1 percent sodium benzoate in their diets. Scientists did not observe any harmful effects on growth, life span or internal organs. All evidence points to sodium benzoate as a safe preservative, except for rare instances of allergic reaction. But it should be noted that this sodium benzoate was not combined with acidic food or ascorbic acid. It is this failure in experimentation that is causing widespread concern over its use. Even in much longer term studies it has been found safe. That is because benzoate is a natural metabolite of the body. When the pH surrounding this preservative is low (acidic), the production of benzene and other difficulties take place.

Sodium benzoate is listed among the ingredients in numerous foods because it kills a wide variety of bacteria, yeast and fungi. You will almost always see it used as a preservative in foods with a high acid content. This is because sodium benzoate will work only when the pH balance of the foods or drinks is less than 3.6. Because it becomes active only at a low pH, it is most commonly used in foods such as soda, vinegar, fruit juice and salad dressing. It is also used to stop the fermentation process in wines.

Sodium benzoate naturally occurs in some fruits such as apples, plums and cranberries. A few sweet spices contain small amounts of sodium benzoate, including cloves and cinnamon. The presence of sodium benzoate in these foods does not necessarily act to preserve them; and many contain levels higher than the FDA recommended concentration of 0.1 percent.

The most common fear is that using sodium benzoate with citric acid or ascorbic acid (vitamin C) can produce benzene, which is highly carcinogenic, and may cause genetic mutations. This is true, and I was one of the first to make the same complaint. But remember that this occurs only when the pH is below 3.8, which is acidic. In LifeOne it never reaches that pH or anywhere near it. For this reason and others, no benzene is produced.

We are often asked why we do not use other preservatives such as citric acid. The answer is simple, but the implications are too numerous and complicated to go into in this short article. We do not use citric acid and other like preservatives because they would change the pH of LifeOne and for several reasons that is unacceptable. LifeOne is kept very close to the normal pH of blood at just over 7.

Since we use an extremely small amount of sodium benzoate in LifeOne, some have questioned its safety. Whether or not you believe the charges concerning its safety, the questions of how and why it is used are legitimate.

Vol 29 Issue 1 Page 52