Sodium lactate

Animal and lab studies only

• Open question

  Food poisoning bacteria growth⁵

  In lab tests, sodium lactate in cooked chicken kept Clostridium perfringens from growing at some warm temperatures.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  Chromium in preserved foods⁴

  Sodium lactate in some preserved foods contained small amounts of chromium, though arsenic was not found.

How it’s made and used

• Food germ growth³

  Sodium lactate and sodium diacetate together slowed Listeria growth in ready-to-eat meat, but how they do it is still unknown.

• Food poisoning bacteria in sausages⁶

  Sodium lactate mixed into wieners and bratwurst stopped Listeria germs growing for weeks, but dipping them in it did not work.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.

Expert panels that weigh all the research. Shown for context: the signal at the top does not count them.

• UN and WHO food additive experts (JECFA), 1974

  No daily limit needed (“ADI not specified”, JECFA’s term for very low toxicity).