Sodium propionate

Sodium propionate is the sodium salt of propionic acid (E280), formed by neutralising propionic acid with sodium hydroxide or sodium carbonate. Like its parent acid, it functions as an antifungal and antimicrobial preservative, primarily used to inhibit mould growth in bread, bakery products, processed cheese, and dairy goods. It is one of the most widely used preservatives in commercial bread manufacturing worldwide.

JECFA's ADI for sodium propionate is "not specified," evaluated in 1973 — consistent with the safety of propionic acid itself. Sodium propionate dissociates in the gut to propionic acid and sodium, both of which are metabolised through completely normal pathways. Propionic acid is a natural human metabolite; the sodium contribution at food additive concentrations is nutritionally modest.

Sodium propionate is approved in the EU, US (GRAS), UK, Australia, Japan, and Vietnam. It is the preservative most commonly responsible for the extended mould-free shelf life of commercially sliced bread. For consumers, it is one of the more benign preservatives on the market — a sodium salt of a compound the body already produces naturally. People following very low-sodium diets should be aware it contributes a small amount of sodium, but this is not a meaningful concern at typical dietary exposure levels.