Potassium benzoate

What the evidence says

• Can form benzene with vitamin CStrong evidence

  Benzoates can form small amounts of benzene in drinks that also contain ascorbic acid (vitamin C), especially with heat or light. [1]

Evidence tiers say how sure the evidence is, separately from how much it matters. About evidence tiers.

Rules around the world

“Banned” means explicitly prohibited or withdrawn after review; “not permitted” means never authorized there. We use each regulator’s own words.

Popular products that list potassium benzoate

104 of the 17,000 most-scanned products in the US with a GoodSwap page list potassium benzoate. The 12 most scanned:

• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Coca-Cola · 355 mL Score 29 out of 100 Poor
• Diet Coke Coca-Cola · 355 mL Score 29 out of 100 Poor
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Coca-Cola · 20 fl oz Score 29 out of 100 Poor
• Black Raspberry Flavored Sparkling Water Sparkling Ice · 240 mL Score 59 out of 100 Okay
• Diet Coke Coke · 20 fl oz (591 mL) Score 29 out of 100 Poor
• Diet Pepsi Pepsi · 12 oz Score 48 out of 100 Okay
• Sparkling Energy Bloom · 12 oz Score 61 out of 100 Good
• Diet Coke Coca-Cola · 45.0 fl oz Score 29 out of 100 Poor
• Classic Lemonade Flavored Sparkling Water Sparkling Ice · 17 fl oz Score 52 out of 100 Okay
• SPARKLING ICE Coconut Pineapple Sparkling Ice · 240 mL Score 52 out of 100 Okay
• Kiwi Strawberry Flavored Sparkling Water Sparkling Ice · 17 fl oz Score 56 out of 100 Okay
• Energy Drink Bloom · 12 fl oz Score 59 out of 100 Okay

Diets and allergens

Vegan

Yes

Vegetarian

Yes

Gluten-free

Yes

For the ingredient in general. Always check the package: a product’s own labels win.