E-numbers / Preservatives / E200
also: 2,4-hexadienoic acid
A preservative first found in rowan berries, now made in factories, that stops mould in cheese, wine and cakes. Used with nitrite in meat, the two can form compounds that damage DNA in lab tests.
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Wheat Flour 45%, Water, Rye Flour 20%, Yeast, Rye Sourdough 2% (Water, Rye Flour, Salt), Iodised Salt, Wheat Gluten, Preservatives (Sorbic Acid, Calcium Propionate)
When sorbic acid and nitrite preservatives are used together in the same food, lab studies have produced compounds that damage DNA.
UK supermarket foods that declare E200: 231 of the 43,325 we checked (0.5%)
Counted by its code or its name in the ingredient list.
Counted by NutraSafe from UK supermarket ingredient lists, September 2026. How we counted
Why it’s worth knowing. When sorbic acid and nitrite preservatives are used together in the same food, lab studies have produced compounds that damage DNA. Regulators have flagged this as an open question, and no measurements from real food have been submitted.
Sorbic acid is a short-chain fatty acid first isolated from unripe rowan berries in 1859. Today it is made in factories. It has no colour or smell and does not dissolve well in water, which is why its salt, potassium sorbate (E202), is used more often in watery foods. Once dissolved, both work the same way.
It gets into mould, yeast and bacteria cells, then splits into charged particles that cannot get back out. That makes the inside of the cell more acidic and stops it producing energy, so it cannot grow. It works best in acidic foods, such as fruit products, pickles and wine.
Soft cheese, processed cheese, wine, cider, dried fruit, cakes, soft drinks, yoghurt, pickles, jam and prepared salads, and some meat products alongside nitrite preservatives. UK labels call it sorbic acid, E200 or preservative (sorbic acid). Its salt, potassium sorbate, is E202.
In 2026 the NutriNet-Santé study reported that French adults who ate more sorbates had more cancer. The link was mainly with potassium sorbate (E202), the salt most used in food, rather than sorbic acid itself. These are observational studies.
Among 105,260 French adults followed for an average of 7.5 years, higher intake of sorbates, specifically potassium sorbate (E202), was linked to a 14% higher risk of cancer overall and a 26% higher risk of breast cancer.
In the lab, sorbic acid reacts with sodium nitrite to form compounds, including one called DNMP, that damage DNA in bacterial tests. Both preservatives are allowed in some of the same foods, such as some processed meat. In 2019 European reviewers pointed out that nobody had submitted measurements of these compounds in actual food, so the real-world risk is unknown.
Sorbic acid and sodium nitrite react at stomach-like acidity to form compounds, including ethylnitrolic acid and 1,4-dinitro-2-methylpyrrole, that damage DNA in the Ames test.
Reviewers noted that sorbic acid and nitrite can be in the same foods, that the compounds formed damage DNA in lab tests, and that no data on their levels in real food had been submitted. They called this an open data gap.
A study of rats over two generations found lower body weight in the second-generation pups, lighter ovaries and wombs in first-generation females, and heavier livers in males, all at the highest doses. These findings were used to set the daily limit.
A rat study over one extended generation found lower weight gain in second-generation pups as the key effect, with lighter ovaries and wombs in first-generation females and heavier livers in males at the highest dose.
From these results, reviewers set a shared daily limit of 11mg of sorbic acid per kg of body weight for E200 and E202, replacing a temporary limit of 3mg per kg set in 2015 while the study was awaited.
The key animal study behind the current limit left out the parts designed to test effects on the nervous system and the immune system. Reviewers accepted leaving out the nervous system part, because earlier studies found effects only at higher doses. But no immune system data were produced, and that is still a gap.
The study left out its nervous system and immune system parts. Reviewers accepted the first omission, but noted the missing immune data as a limitation.
Sorbic acid can cause a short-lived burning or redness where it touches the skin, which is not a true allergy. Less often it causes a real allergic rash in people who have become sensitised, mostly through creams and other skin products. Reactions from food are reported.
Sorbic acid caused hives around the mouth that were only partly blocked by antihistamine, pointing to a direct irritant effect rather than an immune one.
Allergic skin reactions to sorbic acid and potassium sorbate have been documented, mainly from creams and medical devices, and how common they are may be underestimated.
The DNA concern is about what it forms when combined with nitrite, or in some studies with vitamin C and iron.
Potassium sorbate breaking down with vitamin C in the presence of iron salts produced compounds that damaged DNA in lab tests.
Daily limit. 11mg of sorbic acid per kg of body weight a day, shared by E200 and E202.
People who get skin reactions to sorbic acid or potassium sorbate should check for sorbic acid, E200, potassium sorbate or E202. It is not one of the allergens UK law makes labels declare in bold.
The 2019 limit rests on a new animal study. Two things remain open. When it is used with nitrite preservatives, lab studies show DNA-damaging compounds can form, but nobody has measured whether they appear at meaningful levels in real food. And the study behind the current limit did not test the immune system. Separately, a large 2026 French study linked sorbates to more cancer, mainly through potassium sorbate (E202), the salt used most in food.
No. Sorbic acid is approved in the UK and is on the Food Standards Agency's list.
It is a recorded open question. When sorbic acid and nitrite are combined, lab studies have produced compounds that damage DNA. In 2019 European reviewers noted that no measurements of these compounds in real food had been submitted. Both preservatives are allowed together in some foods, including some processed meat.
Sorbic acid, or its more common salt potassium sorbate (E202), is in soft and processed cheese, wine, cider, cakes, soft drinks, dried fruit, yoghurt, pickles, jam, prepared salads and some processed meat. Labels call it sorbic acid, E200 or preservative (sorbic acid), or in salt form potassium sorbate or E202.
Yes. It is made in a factory, with nothing from animals. It was first found in rowan berries, but that is not where it comes from now.
Last reviewed: 9 November 2026
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