What is it?
Sodium erythorbate is a salt of erythorbic acid, a mirror-image form of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). It is related to sodium ascorbate (E301) but has far weaker vitamin C activity. It is made by fermenting sugars, not from animals.
E-numbers / Antioxidants / E316
Sodium erythorbate
also: Sodium isoascorbate · sodium salt of erythorbic acid
A close relative of vitamin C used in bacon, ham and other cured meats. It fixes the pink colour and cuts the nitrite left behind.
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Pork (92%), Water, Garlic, Dextrose, Flavouring, White Pepper, Nutmeg, Antioxidant: Sodium Erythorbate; Preservative: Sodium Nitrite; Sunflower Oil.
E316
Sodium erythorbate
Sodium erythorbate is a salt of erythorbic acid, a mirror-image form of vitamin C (ascorbic acid).
VeganVegetarian
103
of the 43,325 UK supermarket foods we checked declare E316 in their ingredients
That is 0.2%, counted by its code or its name.
Only 32% of these labels print “E316”. Most use the name: look for “sodium erythorbate”.
Counted by NutraSafe from UK supermarket ingredient lists, September 2026. How we counted
How common it is in UK food, by aisle
- Cooked and cured meats65 products3.4% of 1,938
- Fresh meat, poultry and fish12 products0.2% of 4,835
- Bread and bakery8 products0.2% of 3,682
- Ready meals and pizza7 products0.1% of 4,833
What sodium erythorbate is, what it does and where you will see it
What does it do?
It is an antioxidant, slowing the reactions with oxygen that cause off flavours, colour loss and rancidity. In cured meat it speeds up the reaction that turns added nitrite into the stable pink colour associated with ham, bacon and sausage. That also leaves less nitrite in the finished product, which reduces some of the reactions nitrite can go on to cause.
Where you will see it
Mostly cured and preserved meats such as bacon, ham, frankfurters, pepperoni and cooked sausage, and preserved and frozen fish including salmon and trout. It is used at much lower levels in some fruit and vegetable products to stop browning. UK labels call it sodium erythorbate or E316.
What the science says
Linked to cancer and type 2 diabetes in large French studies
In 2026 two NutriNet-Santé analyses of more than 100,000 French adults reported that people who ate more sodium erythorbate had more cancer, and that it was linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. The cancer study did not give a single percentage for it in its summary. These are observational studies: they show links, not proof that the additive causes the disease.
Among 105,260 French adults followed for an average of 7.5 years, higher intake of erythorbates, specifically sodium erythorbate, was linked to more cancer.
2026Observational study in peopleHasenböhler et al., The BMJ, NutriNet-Santé cohort
Among 108,723 French adults followed from 2009 to 2023, with 1,131 new cases of type 2 diabetes, sodium erythorbate (E316) was one of 12 preservatives individually linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
2026Observational study in peopleNature Communications, NutriNet-Santé cohort
It cuts nitrosamines in cured meat
Nitrosamines are compounds that can form when nitrite, used to cure meat, reacts with proteins at high heat or in the gut. Several cause cancer in animals. Sodium erythorbate takes up the nitrite first, before it could form them, and turns it into nitric oxide, which measurably lowers nitrosamines in cured products. The additive itself does not form nitrosamines.
Sodium erythorbate and erythorbic acid reduce nitrosamine formation in cured meat by speeding up the conversion of nitrite to nitric oxide.
2016Regulator reviewEFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources (ANS), re-evaluation of E315/E316
European reviewers concluded that the nitrosamines people take in from all foods are a public health concern for every age group, with processed meat a key source.
2023Regulator reviewEFSA Journal, Risk assessment of N-nitrosamines in food
European reviewers set a daily limit in 2016
European reviewers completed a full review in 2016 and set a daily limit of 6mg per kg of body weight. At permitted levels and normal eating, intake stays well below it. The international committee had earlier set no numerical daily limit.
Reviewers set a daily limit of 6mg per kg of body weight for erythorbic acid and its sodium salt (E315/E316) and raised no safety issue at permitted levels.
2016Regulator reviewEFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources (ANS)
Very high doses in animals interfered with vitamin C
Because erythorbate looks like vitamin C, very high doses in animal studies interfered with how the body uses vitamin C. This has not been seen in people at the amounts in food.
High doses in animal studies interfered with how the body uses vitamin C, but no such effect has been shown in people at food levels.
2016Animal studyEFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources (ANS)
Where it stands with the regulators
Approved in the UK and the EU
Daily limit. 6mg per kg of body weight a day, about 420mg for a 70kg adult (European reviewers, 2016).
- Legal basis
- On the Food Standards Agency's approved list for Great Britain
- Permitted foods
- Cured and preserved meat · Preserved fish · Frozen fish with red skin
- Maximum levels
- 500mg per kg in cured and preserved meat, and 1500mg per kg in preserved and frozen fish.
- History
- European reviewers completed a full review of erythorbic acid (E315) and sodium erythorbate (E316) in 2016. No ban or restriction has been imposed in the UK or EU, and it has been approved since the early years of shared EU additive rules.
Who should be careful
No group is advised to avoid the additive itself. People cutting down on processed and cured meats will avoid it anyway, since it is almost only used in them. Look for sodium erythorbate or E316 in the ingredients.
The honest read
The additive has been through a formal European review. It is used almost only in cured and processed meat, which the WHO's cancer agency says causes bowel cancer when eaten regularly, and it reduces one of the chemical routes behind that, nitrosamine formation. But a large 2026 French study linked sodium erythorbate itself to more cancer and to type 2 diabetes. Because it is almost always eaten in cured meat, its own share is hard to separate from the meat. Seeing E316 on a label mostly tells you the product is cured or processed meat.
Common questions about sodium erythorbate
Is E316 banned in the UK?
No. Sodium erythorbate is on the Food Standards Agency's approved list and has not been restricted or banned.
Does sodium erythorbate cause cancer?
There is no evidence linking sodium erythorbate itself to cancer. It is used in cured and processed meats, which the WHO's cancer agency classes as a cause of bowel cancer when eaten regularly. The additive actually reduces nitrosamine formation, one of the chemical routes associated with that classification.
What foods contain E316?
Mostly cured and preserved meats, including bacon, ham, frankfurters, pepperoni and cooked sausage, and some preserved and frozen fish. It is rarely used elsewhere.
Is E316 vegan?
Yes. It is made by fermenting plant sugars, with nothing from animals.
Sources
- UK FSA Approved Additives and E Numbers
- EFSA ANS Panel re-evaluation of erythorbic acid (E315) and sodium erythorbate (E316), EFSA Journal 2016
- EFSA Journal: Risk assessment of N-nitrosamines in food (2023)
- IARC Monographs Volume 114: Consumption of Red Meat and Processed Meat (2015)
- Hasenböhler A et al. (2026) Intake of food additive preservatives and incidence of cancer: results from the NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort, The BMJ
- (2026) Associations between preservative food additives and type 2 diabetes incidence in the NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort, Nature Communications
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
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