What is E211?

We talk about artificial colours in our food and drink and we also talk about preservative 211. But what exactly is E211?

Well, it is a chemical preservative used in food, drinks and medicines and is otherwise known as sodium benzoate. A UK study has linked it to hyperactivity in children, especially when combined with artificial colours.

In chemistry terms it is the sodium salt of benzoic acid and can be produced by reacting sodium hydroxide with benzoic acid. 


• Benzoic acid is often used as a food preservative to inhibit the growth of mould
• Sodium hydroxide is also known as caustic soda and is found in many strong and industrial cleaning products

Sodium benzoate is also used in cosmetics and toiletries such as body wash.

It is also used in fireworks as a fast-burning rocket fuel to help produce that famous whistling sound.

Sodium benzoate is clearly, therefore, a very powerful substance.

So, do we really need sodium benzoate in our food? 

Personally my view is a resounding "No." However, many food manufacturers seem to disagree (or not care) as this E211 preservative can be found in numerous products such as sauces, dips, confectionery, fruit juices, fizzy drinks and some medicines. I even found it in a pre-made Christmas cake.

But clearly it is not a necessary additive as many other products seem to do very well without it. Take the most obvious example, the content of fizzy drinks (not that I am advocating fizzy drinks for young children, of course). Some varieties have them and some do not.

It is fascinating to see that Coca-Cola and Pepsi do not have it in their standard cola products. However they do have it in their variants such as Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Pepsi Max. It is also present in Solo (by Schweppes), Sprite (by Coca-Cola) and others. On the other hand, it is not present in Fanta and Lift drinks (both Coca-Cola products).

Interestingly also, Schweppes lemonade is free from E211 if you buy it in a bottle format, but it does contain E211 if you buy it in the canned format.

The flavoured mineral water drinks, with ranges offered by Schweppes and Deep Spring, also contain E211. The new LOL brand of drinks do not.

As for medicines - there are so many cough mixtures which contain E211, as well as children's Panadol, children's Claratyne and others. Yet children's Nurofen and Bisolven cough mixture do not have this preservative.

Clearly my conclusion therefore has to be that this highly questionable preservative is not at all necessary for inclusion in our food. Why must our families be subjected to this additive when it is clearly not needed.

Keep using it in fireworks and cosmetics if you must. But please leave it out of our food, drinks and medicines.

Cool drinks and ice blocks

Well, its been hot in Australia recently, really hot. And many of us are reaching for the ice-blocks and cold drinks in a bid to cool down on the inside as well as the outside.

But if you have a negative reaction to artificial food colourings or 211 preservative then this takes a little more thought than just reaching into the fridge or freezer for the first cold item that comes to hand.

You know those bottles of mineral water with flavours in them - the ones produced by manufacturers such as Deep Spring. They make a good range of lightly flavoured drinks with 'orange and passionfruit' and other interesting tastes. They are certainly nice and refreshing in hot weather. The bottles even say they have 'natural colours and flavours'.

Well, that may be so, but they also contain preservative 211, and therein lies the problem.

My son used to drink these a few summers ago because we thought that a 'lightly sparkling mineral water' with 'natural colours' would be just fine for him. Not like those other heavily coloured fizzy drinks you can buy in the supermarket chains and vending machines which just scream at you "danger - keep out!"

But then, after an ongoing period of drinking this so-called 'mineral water' my son became extremely hyper with a total lack of concentration, silly behaviour and generally dysfunction.

We later worked out that the culprit was preservative 211 inside the mineral water. The bottle might have seemed friendly enough but clearly it was far from it.

Similarly with ice blocks - unless we buy the SPC brand (currently with Toy Story images on them) or Icy-Pole blocks we are really heading for a nightmare time. Most of the standard ice-blocks on sale are jam-packed with all sorts of artificial colours and are absolutely terrible for many children susceptible to behavioural impacts. Been there, done that - never again, thank you very much.

So if you are trying to cool down this summer, try something a little safer. The new LOL brands are safe and tasty (amazing but true). Otherwise stick to good old fashioned water or double check all the ingredients on the back of every item before you buy it.