Flavor ingredient regulatory record
Sodium Benzoate
Sodium Benzoate is an aromatic, FEMA GRAS under FEMA number 3025 (CAS 532-32-1).
- FEMA
- 3025
- CAS
- 532-32-1
- Formula
- C7H5NaO2
- EC
- 208-534-8
GRAS status: FEMA GRAS, publication 3. Recorded by FDA in the Substances Added to Food inventory under CAS 532-32-1.
Structure
Identity
Also known as: Benzoic acid, sodium salt (1:1), Benzoic acid, sodium salt, Antimol, Benzoate of soda, Sobenate, E 211, Fuminaru, Purox S, E 221, E 221 (nucleating agent), Probenz, FZ 001.
Can Sodium Benzoate be labeled natural?
Nature makes Sodium Benzoate, which is why the US label turns on process. A natural route gives natural flavor; synthesis gives artificial Sodium Benzoate, same molecule. The EU and UK grant the natural claim only to that natural route; Mercosur and Mexico call synthetic material identical-to-natural.
- United States
- Natural or artificial, by process
- European Union and UK
- Natural only from natural material
- Mercosur and Mexico
- Natural or identical-to-natural
How each market defines the classes: natural vs artificial flavor under 21 CFR 101.22.
Regulatory status, with citations
United States
Sodium Benzoate is FEMA GRAS under FEMA number 3025. It is cited in the Code of Federal Regulations at 21 CFR 184.1733.
European Union and United Kingdom
No EU FL number is on file for Sodium Benzoate. That is not a finding either way. The Union List covers defined flavouring substances, so natural complex materials are handled as flavouring preparations under Parts B to F and never receive a number, and substances used as additives sit under Regulation 1333/2008 instead. Confirm the position before EU or UK use.
JECFA (WHO / FAO)
Sodium Benzoate has not been evaluated by JECFA as a flavouring agent, or no evaluation is on file.
Other US flags
Not on the California Proposition 65 list. Listed on the EPA TSCA inventory.
TSCA Inventory status
A flavor ingredient is also an industrial chemical. Sodium Benzoate appears on the EPA Toxic Substances Control Act Chemical Substance Inventory under CAS 532-32-1, where EPA names it Benzoic acid, sodium salt (1:1).
Active in US commerce
EPA designates this substance active, so no Notice of Activity Form B is required before manufacturing. What active and inactive mean.
EPA publishes no regulatory flags on this listing. What the flags mean.
From the EPA non-confidential TSCA Inventory, July 2026 release. EPA also maintains a confidential portion it does not publish. Search the Inventory by CAS number.
Odor and taste
Taste: Unpleasant, sweetish, saline taste.
Where it is used
Typical applications for Sodium Benzoate are not on file yet.
Sodium Benzoate FAQ
Does Sodium Benzoate have FEMA GRAS status?
Sodium Benzoate holds FEMA GRAS status under FEMA number 3025. The Code of Federal Regulations lists it at 21 CFR 184.1733.
How do I cite Sodium Benzoate by FEMA or CAS number?
Cite Sodium Benzoate as FEMA 3025 or CAS 532-32-1; both point to the same entry.
Can Sodium Benzoate be labeled a natural flavor?
The process decides for Sodium Benzoate. It occurs in nature, so a natural-source, natural-process material is natural flavor in the US and synthetic Sodium Benzoate is artificial. The EU and UK grant the natural claim only to that natural route; Mercosur and Mexico call synthetic material identical-to-natural.
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Guides: What Is FEMA GRAS? · Natural vs artificial · Filing a GRAS notification
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Sources and attribution. The identity and regulatory facts on this page are taken from the FDA Substances Added to Food inventory, a US government record, which lists this substance as SODIUM BENZOATE under CAS 532-32-1 and carries its FEMA number and its 21 CFR citations. The inventory is searchable at FDA. FDA records its technical effect as antimicrobial agent, antioxidant, color or coloring adjunct, flavor enhancer, flavoring agent or adjuvant, fumigant, ph control agent, surface-active agent.
A FEMA GRAS conclusion is reached by the Expert Panel of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the United States, and the FEMA number names that conclusion. FEMA publishes its own entry for this substance in the FEMA Flavor Library, which is the authoritative record of what the Panel decided and is worth reading alongside this page.
Ambrose Compliance is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by FEMA. FEMA and FEMA GRAS are used here as identifiers for a published regulatory determination, not as marks of any relationship between FEMA and Ambrose.
About this page. Facts come from the FDA Substances Added to Food inventory, the Code of Federal Regulations, the EPA TSCA Inventory, the EU Union List, JECFA and the Ambrose database, with FEMA's published determination cited where it applies; parts of the text are written by Ambrose AI, which can make mistakes. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. This is not regulatory or legal advice.