
Potassium sorbate is a widely used preservative that plays a crucial role in extending the shelf life of many foods and personal care products. This white, crystalline powder is the potassium salt of sorbic acid, a compound that occurs naturally in some berries. The name ‘sorbate’ has an interesting origin, derived from the Latin name for the rowan tree, Sorbus aucuparia. It was from the unripe berries of this tree, also known as mountain ash, that sorbic acid was first isolated in 1859 by French researchers.
As a preservative, potassium sorbate excels at inhibiting the growth of moulds, yeasts, and certain bacteria. This makes it particularly useful in foods prone to spoilage, such as cheese, wine, yoghurt, dried meats, baked goods, and soft drinks. It’s especially effective in acidic conditions, which is why it’s often found in products like fruit juices and pickles.
Beyond food preservation, potassium sorbate has found applications in cosmetics and personal care products. It helps prevent the growth of microorganisms in items like shampoos, lotions, and creams, ensuring they remain safe and stable for use. Some manufacturers are even turning to potassium sorbate as an alternative to parabens in their formulations.
In cosmetic formulations, potassium sorbate is particularly effective against fungi, which are often challenging for formulators. However, it’s less effective against bacteria, so it’s typically used in combination with other preservatives. Its effectiveness can also be influenced by the formulation’s pH and other ingredients.
Regarding its regulatory position in cosmetics in the European Union, potassium sorbate is listed in Annex V of the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 as a permitted preservative. The regulation sets a maximum concentration of 0.6% (as the acid) for its use in cosmetic products. This means that potassium sorbate is allowed for use in cosmetics throughout the EU, subject to this concentration limit.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has also assessed potassium sorbate and found it to be readily biodegradable. This environmental consideration adds to its appeal as a preservative in cosmetic formulations. Its biodegradability means it doesn’t accumulate in the body or the environment, though this also means it’s less stable in formulations compared to preservatives like parabens.
While potassium sorbate is generally recognised as safe, it’s important to note that it can be an irritant in its pure form. However, in the concentrations used in food and personal care products (typically 0.025% to 0.1%), it poses no significant risks for most people. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) has deemed it safe for use in cosmetics, with a wide safety margin. Some individuals may experience mild skin reactions, which appear to be more common in purely aqueous formulations compared to those with a reasonable oil content.
It’s worth noting that while potassium sorbate is often associated with natural products due to its origin, its commercial production is primarily from petrochemical sources rather than rowan berries. This means it’s not as “green” as some might suggest, but its effectiveness, safety profile, and environmental friendliness still make it a popular choice among formulators, especially those aiming for more natural-oriented products.
As consumers become more conscious of what goes into their food and personal care products, understanding common ingredients like potassium sorbate is increasingly important. While it’s now synthetically produced, potassium sorbate helps reduce food waste by extending shelf life and plays a vital role in ensuring the safety and stability of many products we use daily. Its regulatory approval in the EU, along with its effectiveness and generally low risk profile, makes it a popular choice for formulators of cosmetic and personal care products across Europe.
In conclusion, potassium sorbate is a versatile and widely used preservative that has earned its place in our food supply and personal care products. Its name, rooted in the Latin for rowan tree, serves as a reminder of its natural origins, even though it’s now primarily produced synthetically. Its ability to inhibit microbial growth, particularly fungi, while being generally safe for consumption and environmentally friendly, makes it a valuable tool in food preservation and product formulation. As with any ingredient, it’s always best to use potassium sorbate in moderation and in accordance with regulatory guidelines to ensure its continued safe use.
Other Preservatives
Methylisothiozolinone/Methylchloroisothizalinone (Kathon CG)
What a GREAT and interesting post! I found your blog via the Moneysavingexpert forums. I’ve bookmarked your page.
When you say “Other than the Environmental Working Group who are no longer taken seriously by serious environmental activists” – could you elaborate? (I have found the EWG an irresponsible and suspicious bunch of scaremongers myself – their ‘database’ is full of contradictory information for starters). It would make me happy to know that people who actually study these issues properly would have noticed.
Here is an article from the Guardian, which is pretty much the most pro-environmental issues of all the UK daily papers which is pretty scathing of the EWG. If you skim the comments you’ll see that there are plenty of people ready to argue about the issue but none are defending the EWG. I particularly liked this line “For their own purposes – that is to say, alarmism and fear-mongering (and, possibly, fund-raising) “
Hi! I don’t see a link (sorry if I’m just not looking in the right place).
Sorry I forgot to include it
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/dec/25/pollution-chemistry?INTCMP=SRCH
i just happened to find your posts, must say you have described the products very well and simplified them for me. i do see a lot of people over reacting about loads of chemicals that have been used in cosmetics. lack of knowledge makes anything sound frightening. thank you for the clarity on these ingredients.
Thanks for making it so easy to understand. I was getting a bit paranoid about this ingredient.
I just got done blogging about potassium sorbate. Two percent of the entire population is allergic to it. I am one of that 2%. Externally. My skin gets red like a strawberry and I become a welt. It’s painful. I wouldn’t dismiss it so lightly as you appear to do on this blog. 2% is a LOT of people.
2% is indeed a lot of people, but I don’t think that figure can possibly be the true one. I have never seen a published estimate of it, but if it was anything like that high I am sure I would have met someone with such an allergy by now. Even peanut allergy is only estimated at 0.6% by the American National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases. (‘http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/understanding/Pages/quickFacts.aspx). Their website doesn’t mention potassium sorbate anywhere. But the trouble is that if you hove an allergy it affects you 100%, so you have my sympathy, but I don’t think there will ever be a cosmetic preservative that nobody anywhere is allergic to.
Thank you for the article. I was trying to decide whether using potassium sorbate was safe or not, and now I think it is safe in small amounts. Concerning restrictions, nowadays, potassium sorbate is limited to 0.6% in cosmetics, at least in France.
I also searched for articles on potassium sorbate allergy and found two studies. In the first one, potassium sorbate allergy affected nearly 4% of people allergic to cosmetics (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22570031), and in the other one, it affected 0.6% of people with eczema (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15218738). So it seems the figures are all over the map.
Thank-you for the article! I have recently decided to make my own formulations of creams and serums and slowly I’m learning about actives ( which I hope really work), emulsifiers, and preservatives and finding so much information that it can be overwhelming, especially for someone with a non-science background.
My goal is to have customized potions that make my skin happy and stave off the aging process as much as possible by topical applications. Of course, a priority in that goal is to do no harm and I’ve read so much conflicting information regarding preservatives that it’s hard to know what to use!!
Please keep these articles coming. They are invaluable to those of us beginning to diy!
Hello, thank you so much for a really great and informative website. I have a question re potassium sorbate and citric acid. The sites I have visited write when these two ingredients are in the same product that is when they are problematic. “When combined with ascorbic acid — also known as vitamin C or citric acid — the preservative converts to benzene, a carcinogen reported to cause leukemia, DNA damage, damage to mitochondria in cells, cell death and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ” http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-sodium-benzoate.htm. Please let me know what you think about this. Thanks again
Hello Keren,
I am afraid the article you have linked to has quite a few factual errors in it. You have reproduced one of them from it. Vitamin C is ascorbic acid but it is not also known as citric acid, that is a different chemical altogether. The author has reproduced a garbled version of a widespread story about sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid. I have already addressed this in this blog post http://colinsbeautypages.co.uk/do-sodium-benzoate-and-vitamin-c-react-to-form-carcinogenic-benzene/ but the short answer is there is nothing to worry about.
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