THE Consumers Association of Penang recently raised concerns over possible health risks linked to the use of the preservative sodium benzoate E211 in soft drinks.

The Health Ministry would like to inform the public on the current status of this substance, that is benzoic acid (BA) or its salts such as sodium benzoate, a preservative used in the food and beverage industry worldwide to retard spoilage and protect taste.

It is approved by Codex Alimentarius Commission, the authority under the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme (Jecfa).

Sodium benzoate is approved by many countries, including the European Union, the United States, Japan and Malaysia. It has been used safely as a preservative for more than 100 years.

The preservatives used in our products are safe and, as normally consumed, have no negative effects on consumer health.

The documented side-effects of benzoic acid on people is eye and skin irritation, exacerbation of allergic symptoms in persons with urticaria, asthma and rhinitis. In severe cases, it may cause anaphylactic shock.

According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand, “there is currently no clinical evidence to suggest that high dietary intake of sulphites and benzoates can cause adverse effects in people”.

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives extensively reviewed the safety of sodium benzoate and has determined that “the data were sufficient to demonstrate lack of carcinogenicity and lack of toxicity to development and reproduction”.

Since benzoic acid is widely used in our food (sauces, soft drinks, etc), the Health Ministry carried out a risk assessment with the aid of an FAO consultant in May last year.

The assessment was based on the maximum allowable daily intake (ADI) at 5mg/kg body weight (Jecfa 1996).

ADI is the estimated amount of a substance that can be consumed every day for a lifetime by people without presenting a significant risk to their health, based on current scientific evidence.

The study showed that the total exposure to benzoic acid from food is 68.2 per cent of ADI for the population in Malaysia. As for sauces, benzioc acid contributed five per cent of ADI and the major contribution is from soya sauce (three per cent of ADI).

Assuming the extreme intake at 97th percentile, the consumption of benzoic acid from total sauces is only 22 per cent of ADI. As for soft drinks, the mean exposure is 26.11 per cent of ADI.

As the risk and the current usage in our population is below the accepted ADI, the ministry will continue to allow the use of benzoic acid and its salts as stipulated in Malaysian Food Regulations 1985.

As to the study quoted by CAP (”CAP: Soft drinks linked to serious disease” - NST, Dec 15), we will monitor the findings and look at the decision of other food standard setting agencies before deciding on our next step.

The ministry will continue to take action on those using excessive amounts of preservatives. Last year, out of 538 soft drinks analysed nationwide, 20 samples (3.7 per cent) were found to have contravened Food Regulations standards.

As of August this year, 388 samples of similar products were analysed and 16 samples found to contravene standards. The necessary legal action are also being instituted.

Source: NST – December 24, 2007