Learn About Sodium Benzoate
Sodium benzoate is the most widely used food preservative in the world. Listed as a bacteriostatic and fungistatic when placed in an acidic condition, sodium benzoate hinders the reproduction of fungus and bacteria without necessarily killing the existing microbes within the food. Because the pH range is acidic for sodium benzoate to react properly, it is most often added to foods with a low pH. Read more about sodium benzoate in the information below brought to you by your chemical supplier in Florida, Bell Chem.
- Food Industry: Acidic foods, condiments, and beverages find the advantages of the addition of sodium benzoate as a preservative. Salad dressings, carbonated beverages, fruit juices, and pickles owe their extended shelf lives to sodium benzoate.
- Pharmaceutical Industry: Many medicines contain sodium benzoate to preserve and stabilize their products. The pharmaceutical industry has been treating urea cycle disorders with sodium benzoate because it has the ability to bind with amino acids and excrete them from the body. This decreases the ammonia levels within the tissues and circulatory system, lowering the pH to a more desirable level.
- Pyrotechnics Industry: Fireworks are a brilliant light show, but part of the thrill is the sound effects. Sodium benzoate acts as a fuel in the whistle mix, a powder that creates the whistling noise often associated with spiraling fireworks.
- Personal-Care Industry: Cosmetics containing sodium benzoate include toothpastes, mouthwashes, and dental appliance cleaners.
- Automotive Industry: This industry has noted sodium benzoate is useful as a corrosion inhibitor in engine coolant systems.
With its wide range of uses, it is no wonder so many industries rely on sodium benzoate as their preservative of choice. Find more information pertaining to all our chemicals by reading our blogs, and call Bell Chem, the chemical supplier in Florida, at (407) 339-2355 (BELL) to speak with one of our knowledgeable representatives.