What does Potassium benzoate do?

Used in consumer products as an antioxidant, a preservative and an antimicrobial.

Is Potassium benzoate safe?

We haven't assessed a concern score for this ingredient yet.

beauty
cleaning
food
industrial

Potassium benzoate

CAS 582-25-2

Concern score

Not assessed — no hazard data yet.

Potassium benzoate in plain language

What it is: Also known as Potassium salt benzoic acid · Benzoate de potassium · Benzoic acid, potassium salt (1:1) · C7H5KO2 · E--212 · Ins NO.212
Show all 11 names
INS-212 · Kaliumbenzoat · UNII-763YQN2K7K · benzoato de potasio · benzoic acid potassium
What it does: Used in consumer products as an antioxidant, a preservative and an antimicrobial.
Antioxidant
Preservative
Antimicrobial
Is it a concern?: We haven't assessed a concern score for this ingredient yet.

Regulation

No restrictions found. Potassium benzoate appears in these published regulatory listings.

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Beauty
Cleaning
Industrial

USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 34 composition records across product categories including Specialty occupational products, Personal care, Construction. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Preservative, Antioxidant, Biocide.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 34 composition records across product categories including Specialty occupational products, Personal care, Construction. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Preservative, Antioxidant, Biocide.Source →
USFDAlisted in openFDA substanceopenFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.
- openFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.Source →
USUSDA FoodData Centralobserved in branded food ingredient statementsObserved in 4 USDA branded foods including 1 LITER BOTTLE BLACKCHERRY, 1 LITER BOTTLE DIET BLACK CHERRY, 1 LITER BOTTLE DIET CREAM.
- Observed in 4 USDA branded foods including 1 LITER BOTTLE BLACKCHERRY, 1 LITER BOTTLE DIET BLACK CHERRY, 1 LITER BOTTLE DIET CREAM.Source →

Expert safety opinions

No expert opinion on file for Potassium benzoate. These are the independent scientific bodies that assess ingredients like this one; we show an opinion only when a record we hold cites it.

SCCS
EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety
No SCCS opinion on file.
CIR
Cosmetic Ingredient Review (US expert panel)
No CIR safety assessment on file.
JECFA
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
No JECFA evaluation on file.
EFSA
European Food Safety Authority
No EFSA opinion on file.

Evidence & sources

No graded research studies for Potassium benzoate yet. This record is compiled from the published data sources below — registries and regulatory listings, not study findings.

6 data sources

Where this comes from

EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated October 2016
Open →
EPA DSSTox Identifiers
chemistry · updated 2025-12-29
Open →
FDA GSRS UNII
registry · updated 2026-02-26
Open →
openFDA Substance
registry · updated 2026-05-24
Open →
PubChem Live Enrichment
chemistry · updated 2026-05-17
Open →
USDA Branded Foods
product_occurrence · updated 2026-02-19
Open →

Reference links (1)

Openfda substance

codexalimentarius.net

Read →

Suitability

Context-specific fit derived from published classifications and the current ingredient evidence profile.

Food use

Nothing to weigh for this context yet.

No signal in this context

We have no published hazard signal for this ingredient, so we cannot say how it behaves in this context — that is missing evidence, not a clean result.

Fragrance avoidance

Nothing to weigh for this context yet.

No signal in this context

We have no published hazard signal for this ingredient, so we cannot say how it behaves in this context — that is missing evidence, not a clean result.

Where it has been recorded

How often EPA CPDat has listed Potassium benzoate in a product composition. These are source records, not Greenveil catalog products.

Source records

Named organisations

Specialty occupational productsPersonal careConstruction

Typical roles

AntioxidantPreservativeAntimicrobial

See products using Potassium benzoate →

Catalog

Found in these products

Their ingredient lists include Potassium benzoate; each product's own rating depends on its whole formula, so it is shown on the product page, not here.

See all 18 →Find products without it →