Benzoic acid

E number E210INS 210CAS 65-85-0

Used as a preservative.

Benzoic acid is a preservative effective against yeasts and moulds in acidic foods. It occurs naturally in cranberries, prunes and cinnamon, and is added to soft drinks, pickles and sauces.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Benzoic acid by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 184.1021retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

62 food categories

highest permitted level 5,000 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.1.4 Flavoured Fluid Milk Drinks — 300 mg/kg
  • 01.7 Dairy-based desserts (e.g. pudding, fruit or flavoured yoghurt) — 300 mg/kg
  • 02.2.2 Fat spreads, dairy fat spreads and blended spreads — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 02.3 Fat emulsions mainly of type oil-in-water, including mixed and/or flavoured products based on fat emulsions — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 02.4 Fat-based desserts excluding dairy-based dessert products of food category 01.7 — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.10 Fermented fruit products — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.11 Fruit fillings for pastries — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.12 Cooked fruit — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.2 Dried fruit — 800 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.3 Fruit in vinegar, oil, or brine — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.5 — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.6 Fruit-based spreads (e.g. chutney) excluding products of food category — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.7 Candied fruit — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.8 Fruit preparations, including pulp, purees, fruit toppings and coconut milk — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.9 Fruit-based desserts, incl. fruit-flavoured water-based desserts — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.2 Dried vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.3 Vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds in vinegar, oil, brine, or soybean sauce — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.5 Vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweed, and nut and seed purees and spreads (e.g. peanut butter) — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.6 Vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweed, and nut and seed pulps and preparations (e.g. vegetable desserts and sauces, candied vegetables) other than food category 04.2.2.5 — 3,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.7 Fermented vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera) and seaweed products, excluding fermented soybean products of food categories 06.8.6, 06.8.7, 12.9.1, — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.8 Cooked or fried vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 05.1.3 Cocoa-based spreads, incl. fillings — 1,500 mg/kg
  • 05.1.5 Imitation chocolate, chocolate substitute products — 1,500 mg/kg
  • 05.2 Confectionery including hard and soft candy, nougats, etc. other than food categories 05.1, 05.3, and 05.4 — 1,500 mg/kg
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 1,500 mg/kg
  • 05.4 Decorations (e.g. for fine bakery wares), toppings (non-fruit), and sweet sauces — 1,500 mg/kg
  • 06.4.3 Pre-cooked pastas and noodles and like products — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 06.5 Cereal and starch based desserts (e.g. rice pudding, tapioca pudding) — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 07.0 Bakery wares — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 08.2.1.2 Cured (including salted) and dried non-heat treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 08.3.1.2 Cured (including salted) and dried non-heat treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 09.2.4.2 Cooked molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 09.2.5 Smoked, dried, fermented, and/or salted fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 200 mg/kg
  • 09.3 Semi-preserved fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 10.2.1 Liquid egg products — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 10.4 Egg-based desserts (e.g. custard) — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 11.4 Other sugars and syrups (e.g. xylose, maple syrup, sugar toppings) — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 11.6 Table-top sweeteners, including those containing high-intensity sweeteners — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 12.2.2 Seasonings and condiments — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 12.3 Vinegars — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 12.4 Mustards — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 12.5 Soups and broths — 500 mg/kg
  • 12.6 Sauces and like products — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 12.7 Salads (e.g. macaroni salad, potato salad) and sandwich spreads excluding cocoa-and nut-based spreads of food categories 04.2.2.5 and 05.1.3 — 1,500 mg/kg
  • 12.9.1 Fermented soybean paste (e.g. miso) — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 12.9.2 Soybean sauce — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 13.3 Dietetic foods intended for special medical purposes (excluding products of food category 13.1) — 1,500 mg/kg
  • 13.4 Dietetic formulae for slimming purposes and weight reduction — 1,500 mg/kg
  • 13.5 Dietetic foods (e.g. supplementary foods for dietary use) excluding products of food categories — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 13.6 Food supplements — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 14.1.2.1 Fruit juice — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 14.1.2.3 Concentrates for fruit juice — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 14.1.3.1 Fruit nectar — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 14.1.3.3 Concentrates for fruit nectar — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 14.1.3.4 Concentrates for vegetable nectar — 600 mg/kg
  • 14.1.4 Water-based flavoured drinks, including "sport," “energy,” or "electrolyte" drinks and particulated drinks — 250 mg/kg
  • 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions, and other hot cereal and grain beverages, excluding cocoa — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 14.2.2 Cider and perry — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 14.2.4 Wines (other than grape) — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 14.2.5 Mead — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 14.2.7 Aromatized alcoholic beverages (e.g. beer, wine and spirituous cooler-type beverages, low-alcoholic refreshers) — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 15.1 Snacks - potato, cereal, flour or starch based (from roots and tubers, pulses and legumes) — 1,000 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 210and 61 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Produced industrially by oxidising toluene, a petroleum feedstock. The naturally occurring form in fruit is chemically identical but is not the commercial source.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
65-85-0
InChIKey
WPYMKLBDIGXBTP-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 243

Every name it appears under

65 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

E number

  • E210

INS number

  • 210

CAS registry number

  • 65-85-0

As it appears in regulation

  • Benzoic acid

Other names

  • 8SKN0B0MIM
  • Acid, Benzoic
  • Acide benzoique
  • Acido benzoico
  • Acidum benzoicum
  • Aromatic carboxylic acid
  • Benzenecarboxylic acid
  • Benzeneformic acid
  • Benzenemethanoic acid
  • Benzenemethonic acid
  • Benzoate (VAN)
  • Benzoate, Potassium
  • BENZOATES
  • Benzoesaeure
  • Benzoesaeure GK
  • Benzoesaeure GV
  • Benzoic acid
  • Benzoic acid (e 210)
  • Benzoic acid (natural)
  • Benzoic acid (Standard)
  • Benzoic acid, tech.
  • Benzoic-1-13C acid
  • Benzoicum acidum
  • carboxybenzene
  • CAS-65-85-0
  • Caswell No. 081
  • CCRIS 1893
  • Diacylate
  • Diacylic acid
  • Dracylic acid
  • E 210
  • EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 009101
  • Eyelids Wipes
  • FEMA No. 2131
  • HA 1 (acid)
  • HSDB 704
  • hydron;benzoate
  • INS NO.210
  • INS-210
  • Kyselina benzoova
  • Menno-florades
  • Oracylic acid
  • Phenyl carboxylic acid
  • phenylcarboxylic acid
  • phenylformic acid
  • Provita
  • Provita Combat
  • Provita Equiband
  • Retarder BA
  • Retardex
  • Rheumatism Diarrhea
  • Salvo liquid
  • Salvo powder
  • Sodium benzoic acid
  • Solvo powder
  • Tenn-Plas
  • Tennplas
  • Unisept BZA
  • Vevovitall
  • Whitfield's

Systematic names

  • Benzoic acid

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI5 mg/kg bw/dayconsumersEFSA ANS2016
ADI5 mg/kg bw/dayconsumersEFSA FEEDAP2005
ADI300 mg/person/dayconsumersEFSAnot identified in the dataset
TDI5 mg/kg bw/dayconsumersEFSA CEF2009

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • ecfr retrieved 2026-09-07
  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/benzoic-acid.json