Benzoic acid (E210)

Names on a label

• E210
• E 210
• Benzoic acid

Labels outside Europe often print the number on its own, without the E.

What it’s used for

The FDA lists these uses in food: antimicrobial agent; flavoring agent or adjuvant; ph control agent.¹

What regulators and scientists say

• EFSA set an acceptable daily intake of 5 mg per kilogram of body weight per day (March 8, 2016). For a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, that’s about 350 mg a day.²
• The FDA lists it as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for its intended use in food (21 CFR 184.1021).¹

An acceptable daily intake is, in EFSA’s words, “an estimate of the amount of a substance in food or drinking water that can be consumed daily over a lifetime without presenting an appreciable risk to health.”³