People also think they are being healthy when they buy fruit juice. Please, it has no life left in it, very few nutrients, just sugars. Even to juice it ourselves, which if drunk immediately, still has enzymatic activity, it is surely better to consume all the natural fibre along with the fruit. Please, really think about what you put in your bodies.

Not to mention all the synthetic materials we surround ourselves with. All this has a negative effect on the biotic component of this planet.

One unit of sodium benzoate binds with 1 unit of ammonia and allows it to be removed through the kidneys. When ammonia is floating around in your child’s body and destroying their brain, because their liver is defective and missing a critical enzyme, you do a lot you never could have imagined! Unfortunately, sodium benzoate alone was not enough to keep her stable so we changed her to sodium phenylbutyrate, which I’m sure your research will show you is even worse. But you know what? My child is alive and doing amazingly well today! She’s getting 1.5g 4x/day of this, and every unit of this binds with 2 units of ammonia. If it doesn’t continue working, we’ll put her in the clinical trial for HPN-100. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll face the prospect of a liver transplant, although it’s the last thing we want.

Her disease is called OTC Deficiency (Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency) and her case is severe, despite being a female. When you read a post asking for advice regarding the appropriate way to give a medication to reduce damage as much as possible, perhaps try to be, well, anything except “oh my god” acting like I’m killing my kid. She was dying all on her own before she was started on it quite well, thank you very much, and because of having it for two years, she is currently alive.

Younger and more naive people say "they" and older people more often say "we". We are accountable for watching big business, because these board members of large corporations are people we know personally.

I just think it gets to the point of being paranoid. Not only that, but I think I'm becoming, sort of, an elderly person (Who I feel are the majority of the posters, here). And what i mean is, elderly people tend to over-analyze everything.

Oh by the way, I don't drink cokes out of cans because you can taste the "can". Since they aren't good for your liver anyway I drink very little coke.

If you have some of the issues of things like fibro or CFS, thyroid problems or some of the other things that I see listed in this thread, look into iodine supplements. This was not something a doctor brought up to me, but I have been dealing with doctors to help with these problems with no solutions for roughly ten years.

When a doctor recently stated my thyroid test came back high, I decided to begin iodine supplements on my own. Three months and Wow. There is no pain in my muscles, way less fatigue issues, clearer thinking and the list goes on. I have been taking about 12.5 mgs per day that is considered high in North America but it's been perfect for me. I do not give the animals that much. I am very careful with it.

It isn't so much that I am recommending this, as just sharing the experience. I have nothing against doctors other than they aren't helpful for certain things and it is our own responsibility to know our own bodies.

And really medicine and nutrition isn't as much of a 'science' as we lead ourselves to believe - we aren't all the same, so even though we can generalize, what works for some won't work for others. If this has piqued your interest because you have problems with fibro type symptoms, thyroid, etc, research iodine.

Some people are allergic, some people are sensitive and some people will not have any adverse reaction to soda at all. There are a lot of things to watch out for in this world. Having a physical body is a tough business and constant maintenance. Really makes me wonder why we bother.

1. Sodium Benzoate is not harmful on its own --only in the present of an acid or heat it turns into the cancer causing benzene, everything I've seen has an acid present in it.

2. Aspartame the sugar replacement in diet drinks, sugar free foods and gum is not good at all by itself.

3. Sodium Fluoride in toothpaste and most bottled water and added to most towns and cities' water. It is not good for your teeth. This was a false experiment that was propagated by the media in order to sell us poison.

Hitler used fluoride on the jews in concentration camps it kept them docile and weak and slowly killed some of them.

4. Aluminum Zirconium in antiperspirants absorbs through your skin and stays in your body bringing on early onsets of alzheimer's.

Also, don't eat anything with high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, maltodextrin, aluminum (I know, right?), aspartame, and more. Don't take any vaccines, especially the swine flue vaccine. look it up and you will find out.

Oh! And don't forget the Chem Trails! Chem Trails are those fake clouds up in the sky that are killing you! Look that up, too! This is what I know, and every human being deserves to hear it! Just because this is not on T.V., in the newspapers, or on the radio doesn't mean it's not true. In fact, they aren't allowed to!

Post #64 cracks me up!

Every time I eat sodium benzoate I experience the following: upon exerting myself, head rushes, floating white dots, pins and needles, nausea, itching fits, feeling weak. Normal, stand by: weakness, nausea, lack of motivation, hot/cold flashes, general malaise.

Experiment: foods contain less than .1 percent concentrations of sodium benzoate, x being the mass of the food item. so standard issue food can contain .1 percent sodium benzoate by volume! holy crap! make a solution of water and sodium benzoate, one part sodium benzoate to even 10,000 parts water.

inflict a topical abrasion (scratch yourself) and one for control. Topically apply your solution to cut 1. Do nothing to cut 2. Observe.

And then try to make any claims that the food industry cares about your health. Try to claim that "as long as the FDA approves it, it's cool man" and oh god i just read a post about some lady giving the crap straight to her kid.

when i stopped drinking the pop, my body rejected the chemicals and i have a severe adverse reaction to any of them now.

I have excess bloating and gas, i break out in red marks as well as acne, and in many cases, i fall asleep. more so with the benzoates.

these are very harmful chemicals to people who have allergies to them and i urge anyone who believes that this may not be the case to read over other people's stories as well.

this is unfortunately not going away and the only way to remedy this situation is to have everyone informed and make the correct decisions for having more organic and natural foods available.

Most cocktail mixers have huge concentrations (relative to other beverages) of preservatives, sugar, fake sugars (which are worse for you) and/or high fructose corn syrup. I found a new all natural and zero calorie mixer called refine that has no artificial ingredients or preservatives like sodium benzonate or azpartame (fake sugar) and is instead sweetened with stevia, which is a natural plant in the daisy family!

I searched and found a common ingredient in some of the things I consume and that ingredient is sodium benzoate. Whenever I consume food and drink that does not have benzoate I am perfectly fine. Not sure why I am allergic to this substance, but it is proving troublesome for me so I'll stay away from it.

I feel it's generally safe, because it's in so many products and therefore is consumed by millions of people daily. But, like any substance, some people react negatively to it.

I had a blistery rash all over my body and my legs and ankles were so swollen it was horrible and yes the itching and irritation was like a fire! This went on for a year a half. I can now only eat organic with no chemical relatives of any form of benzene. Benzene is deadly and I am living proof.

I did not want to believe this because I am now handicapped with never ever being able to put lotion or one single thing in my mouth without reading ingredients first, and the above person is wrong. if I mistakenly eat one thing with any derivative of benzoate (which by the way is benzene, look it up), I immediately break out and my ankles swell up. For some one who is allergic to something it takes only a small amount to react. For example, a friend of mine cannot breathe if on the airplane someone opens peanuts. of course she is allergic to them and even inhalation can be fatal to her, so research before posting inaccurate info, for some of us have been punch biopsied to the max, and thank god for a derm in kansas who was determined enough to help me.

If you don't believe me, look up sodium benzoate lawsuits and you will be amazed at the major food industry suits, mainly cigarette smoke and soft drink additives are the most detrimental for high levels that are indeed carcinogenic.

Come on people, do your homework and find that benzene indeed is so toxic and it is all around us. If you spill gas on yourself you will get a large dose of it, because it replaced lead in our fuel systems to solve the problem of knocking in your gas tank. Look it up and learn what is in your water as well!

How backed up are the tests and do you realize how expensive testing can be?

Perhaps if you looked toward your local university you could find a researcher to do the testing. It would be quicker and cheaper. Take action and get the answers you are looking for.

In the morning I drink green tea hot-- nothing added. By mid morning to mid afternoon I drink nothing but water (sometimes on the go-- a few V-8's, acai berry juice, or carrot juice as a snack.) I like to add squeezes of fresh citrus (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, etc.) to my water to give me some variety.

At times, like in winter when citrus in the NW is at its highest prices, I'll sometimes buy a few of those Real-Lemon or Real-Lime juices from concentrate in bottles. It lasts longer in the fridge and goes a long way.

For the longest time I just read the part of the label that said 100 percent juice, but I saw the Sod. Benz in the ingredients and have been meaning to look further into exactly what it is and possible factors.

So to say that it only gets into a possible hazard area when combined with citric acid -- hello! What is lemon or lime juice but liquid citric acid/vit. C?

Here I was thinking I was doing my body a favour by keeping it well hydrated with clean pure water and natural vitamin C! I drink about 6-8 litres a day from out of bed in the morning to a glass on my nightstand when I go to sleep.

I am sure there is the idea that the amount of water I consume combined with less than half an ounce of lemon juice per pint and the actual microscopic trace of Sod. Benz would be "per glass" is untraceable. But I feel like that is akin to saying, "you will be fine with mercury levels if you eat 8 ounces or less of the fish you catch out of this river each week." Any level of anything that should not be in my body "in larger quantities," I am going to avoid knowingly putting into my body.

The only poison I have knowledge of that I still consume doses of on purpose is Tequila.

I know I do not have all the facts (and quite frankly I only got through advanced chemistry because my lab partner was a mad chemist genius who had a huge crush on me) but I will go about feeling better knowing that I choose to consume products that I know have the least amount of human additives and interference.

I try to stay as "from my yard, local green grocer, or local sustainable fishery- to my plate" as the times allow. If in doubt, and you are concerned about what is in your pre-packaged product, go fresh!

Except in very high concentrations, sodium benzoate doesn't really kill anything. The preservative has only been shown to be dangerous in high concentrations, and only when these concentrations are combined with vitamin C and certain artificial dyes. There is an almost infinite amount of worse ingredients in food that you need to worry about.

More important than it not being in food is the amount at which it is in food. And did you know that you need elevated temperatures and/or light to stimulate the formation of benzene in this way anyway?

And another fact: sugar inhibits the formation of benzene, so it’s nice that sugar is a popular soda ingredient as well. The FDA noted in their 2005 study that the amount of benzene formed in soft drinks was too miniscule to be a problem.

They also noted that “the vast majority of beverages sampled to date (including those containing both benzoate preservative and ascorbic acid) contain either no detectable benzene or levels below the 5 ppb EPA MCL for drinking water.”

You will find much more benzene in the car exhaust filled air we all breathe everyday, so wear your gas masks I guess. As long as you are not allergic, this should have no adverse affect at the concentrations used.

Don't take my word, check it out. Skepticism is good.

Oh, in response to 51 and 49: I heard that a study done on candies showed that when you mix certain food colorants (commonly found in candies) with this preservative it causes hyperactivity in children.

I bet that hyperactivity has nothing to do with the sugar that is the main ingredient in these candies, and everything to do with the small amount of preservatives.

So, you can receive a slow drip of poison by drinking drinks that have sodium benzoate in it.

seeing as in winter we double the dose of vitamin c this gives the average consumer a greater risk.

I just heard on t.v. that 50 percent of lung cancer cases are in non smokers. the overwhelming rate of cancer my sister included is a shock. her fridge was full of products containing sodium benzoate. i've been talking about this for years. the use of plastic containers reacts with sodium benzoate too. we are consuming this from multiple forms. it's also in liquid tylenol for children and other vitamins. read the labels.

I've read it is a common allergy for asthmatics like myself. I have to check for it on all canned soups, chili, diet sodas and such. Sometimes it is called benzoate of soda instead.

to recap: benzene is only created when sodium benzoate and vitamin C aren't 'in balance.'

Why don't all of us leave the science-talk to the *Scientists*

If you're interested in this kinda stuff buy a book.

Organic chemistry isn't that difficult.

Not everything bought in a supermarket needs to have sodium benzoate in it. I have no idea how the pioneers put up fruit and vegetables to make it through the winter then if we can't live without it. (Dripping sarcasm.)

This product inhibits bacterial growth in your soda, water, etc. Pick your poison. The FDA rules this one okay. Good enough for me. By the way: sodium benzoate does not cause cancer. Benzene does.

When sodium benzoate reacts with Vitamin C, it creates Benzene. By itself, sodium benzoate is safe.

I wanted to find out what was causing the problem so I took myself off to an allergy doctor and in one visit with the skin testing on the arm and a blood test - problem solved. Sodium benzoate showed up in the blood test and it was very high.

This necessitated a trip to a Dietician and after following the correct diet I feel great - up in the morning without feeling flat, no nose dripping or continual headaches. I was just poisoning my body wholesale. One would be amazed to find out all the things I can't eat but I wanted to know all the things I could eat - positive thinking. Bear this in mind and research with regard to feeding babies.

Is it carcinogenic? *Yes*! Will it affect you and your children right away? Sometimes it will affect only future generations. How many tests are conducted to trace generations of rats on this poison? *None*!

Now do me a favor - *stop* drinking this! Educate yourself.

I just went to CostCo - I will never ever go to this store again! They are poisoning people at daylight!

Why is *everyone* asleep? Why is everyone acting like a sheep? Wake up!

Also ill be sure to tell my mom to cut down on the ginger ale which contains *both* sodium benzoate *and* citric acid. Marshall.B

Google, now ban the additives/Daily mail newspaper U.K.

Steve Canada

will it have any effect on human consumption?

Thanks, Jean