E-numbers / Preservatives / E202
also: potassium salt of sorbic acid
The most common mould stopper in cheese, wine, cakes and dried fruit. Large 2026 French studies linked it to more cancer, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
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Reconstituted Dried Potato (78%), Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Preservative (E202), Wheat Gluten
At doses meant to match human diets, potassium sorbate changed gut bacteria in animal studies.
UK supermarket foods that declare E202: 3,430 of the 43,325 we checked (7.9%)
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. At doses meant to match human diets, potassium sorbate changed gut bacteria in animal studies. Alongside nitrite preservatives in processed meat, the two can react in stomach-like conditions to form compounds that damage DNA, though regulators have not established what this means in real food.
Potassium sorbate is the potassium salt of sorbic acid, a fatty acid found naturally in some berries. For food it is made in a factory as a white powder with almost no smell or taste. It dissolves easily in water and releases sorbic acid, which does the work.
In watery, slightly acidic foods it releases sorbic acid. That passes into the cells of moulds, yeasts and some bacteria and blocks the enzymes they use to make energy, so they cannot grow. It works better against moulds and yeasts than bacteria, and less well as a food gets less acidic.
Processed and ripened cheese (including cottage cheese and cream cheese), yoghurt and dairy desserts, wine and cider (to stop them fermenting again in the bottle), soft drinks and juices, cakes and pastries, dried and glacé fruit, margarine, dips and dressings, and some sweet coatings. UK labels call it potassium sorbate or E202.
Three NutriNet-Santé analyses published in 2026 followed more than 100,000 French adults. People who ate more potassium sorbate had 14% more cancer overall and 26% more breast cancer, were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, and had 39% more high blood pressure. These are observational studies.
Among 105,260 French adults followed for an average of 7.5 years, higher intake of potassium sorbate was linked to a 14% higher risk of cancer overall and a 26% higher risk of breast cancer.
Among 108,723 French adults followed from 2009 to 2023, with 1,131 new cases of type 2 diabetes, potassium sorbate (E202) was one of 12 preservatives individually linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
Among 112,395 French adults followed from 2009 to 2024, higher intake of potassium sorbate was linked to a 39% higher risk of high blood pressure.
Mice given potassium sorbate at doses meant to match what people eat had clearly less varied gut bacteria than controls. A 2024 mouse study found signs of liver inflammation during exposure.
Mice given potassium sorbate at doses matched to human intake had the least varied gut bacteria of all the preservatives tested, with more Parabacteroides and Adlercreutzia and fewer Proteobacteria.
Mice fed potassium sorbate for ten weeks showed inflammatory cells in the liver and raised interleukin-1 beta in the blood.
When sorbic acid or potassium sorbate meets nitrite preservatives, such as sodium nitrite (E250) in cured meat, in acidic conditions like the stomach, compounds that damage DNA can form. European reviewers recommended research on whether these form in real food during processing and storage. As of their 2019 review, no measured data from actual food had been provided, so the real-world risk has not been fully assessed.
Sorbic acid and sodium nitrite react in acidic conditions (pH 3.5 to 4.2) to form 1,4-dinitro-2-methylpyrrole and ethylnitrolic acid, both of which damaged DNA directly in lab tests.
Reviewers noted potassium sorbate is used with nitrite preservatives in many processed foods, and recommended research on whether harmful reaction products form in real processing and storage.
The 2015 European review found a worrying sign in a rat study over two generations: male pups at middle and high doses had a shorter distance between the anus and genitals, which is sometimes associated with hormone disruption. So reviewers set only a temporary limit of 3mg per kg of body weight. After a new study, in 2019 reviewers set a full limit of 11mg per kg.
A two-generation rat study found a shorter anogenital distance in second-generation male pups at middle and high doses, and reviewers set a temporary shared limit of 3mg per kg of body weight while waiting for more data.
Reviewers set a full shared limit of 11mg of sorbic acid per kg of body weight.
Potassium sorbate and sorbic acid can occasionally cause skin allergy. A 2021 study found allergy from creams and medical devices containing them is probably underestimated. Allergy from food has been reported in individual cases.
A review of 17 confirmed cases found sorbic acid and potassium sorbate caused allergic skin rashes from creams and medical devices, and the authors concluded it is probably more common than recorded.
Daily limit. 11mg of sorbic acid per kg of body weight a day, shared by E200 and E202 (European reviewers, 2019).
People with a confirmed allergy to sorbic acid or potassium sorbate should look for potassium sorbate or E202. People who react to one usually react to the other. People who eat a lot of processed and cured meat containing both potassium sorbate and nitrite (look for E250, E251, E252 or sodium nitrite alongside E202 or potassium sorbate) may want to know about the open question on their combined use.
Two questions are live. The gut studies used food-level doses in animals and found real changes in bacteria and, in one, signs of inflammation, but they have not been repeated in people. The nitrite question is more specific: lab chemistry shows DNA-damaging products can form when the two meet in acidic conditions, and the 2019 European review noted there is no real-food data. Neither has led to restrictions, and neither has been closed. The combined-use question is about what adds up across a shop rather than any single pack, which is what you see when you track food additives over a few days. The 2026 NutriNet-Santé studies add the strongest human signal yet: links with more cancer, including breast cancer, with type 2 diabetes and with high blood pressure. They are observational and need repeating, but they are about potassium sorbate itself.
No. Potassium sorbate is approved in the UK in a wide range of foods, and in the EU and the US.
In lab conditions, sorbic acid and nitrite preservatives react at stomach-like acidity to form compounds that damaged DNA in tests. In 2019 European reviewers noted that many processed and cured meats contain both and asked for data on whether these compounds form in real food. None has been submitted, so the question is not resolved. Regulators have not restricted the combination.
In the UK, most often processed cheese, cream cheese, yoghurt, wine, cider, soft drinks, cakes and croissants, dried and glacé fruit, margarine and dips. It is also in some toiletries and cosmetics. Labels call it potassium sorbate or E202.
Yes. It is made in a factory, with nothing from animals.
Last reviewed: 9 November 2026
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