Is Sodium Benzoate safe? Sodium Benzoate is a preservative chemical found in foods such as jams, sauces, soda drinks and more. It occurs naturally in fruits such as apples, cranberries, prunes and bilberry. It is also naturally present in some vegetables, prawns and dairy. It is often used in the cosmetics industry and in certain medicines (including over the counter).

The reason I am outlining the safety of sodium benzoate today is because my baby who is only 13 months had a severe allergic reaction to a teething gel recently. She broke out in huge hives and I was desperately trying to figure out what had caused them. I began going through everything she had eaten in the previous days and trying to establish if she had an allergic reaction to the foods. She hadn’t had anything out of the ordinary so I was desperate to find out what else it could be. It was a bank holiday weekend on Sunday and the Doctor was closed until Tuesday so I was worried but I luckily had access to a mother and baby group forum online where I posted a pic. A few of the other mothers mentioned they had seen this kind of rash and confirmed it looked like hives. I had been Googling it myself and it looked to be the same as the hive pics so rather than rush her to the hospital I decided to keep investigating. She had no fever and was absolutely fine other than this rash. read more