Sorbic acid

Studies in people

• Concern

  Type 2 diabetes risk⁴

  In women, higher levels of sorbic acid in the blood were linked to more new cases of diabetes.

• Open question

  Benzene exposure test⁸

  Eating foods preserved with sorbic acid raised a benzene marker in people's urine, which could confuse exposure tests.

Animal and lab studies only

• Concern

  Pup weight gain⁹

  In animal studies, sorbic acid given to rats affected the weight gain of their pups.

• Concern

  Immune response¹⁰

  In lab studies, sorbic acid weakened the immune response in human blood cells.

• No harm found

  Food additives and DNA¹¹

  Sorbic acid can react with amines in food to form new products, but these did not damage DNA in lab studies.

Allergies and intolerances

These are about people with an allergy, an intolerance or coeliac disease. The signal is about the ingredient itself, and these are about the person eating it, so the signal does not count them.

• Skin reaction to food⁶

  In some people, sorbic acid in foods like salad cream can cause a short-lived itchy skin rash.

How it’s made and used

• How much we eat³

  Sorbic acid intake stayed well below the safe daily level, even for people who always buy preservative-containing foods.

• Preservative intake in children⁵

  In Taiwan, sorbic acid intake in young children stayed well below the level health officials consider acceptable.

• What the body does with it⁷

  A small amount of sorbic acid eaten in food shows up in urine, so scientists can measure it there.

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), 1973

  Acceptable daily intake: up to 25 mg per kg of body weight.