sodium benzoate
1
4.3
- noun
- /ˈsoʊdiəm bɛnˈzoʊeɪt/
- Specialized
:
benzoato de sodio
- Many packaged foods contain sodium benzoate as a preservative to enhance their shelf life.
Examples
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The label indicated that sodium benzoate was used to keep the salad dressing fresh.
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Another beverage mix included in the current average daily consumption of food additives by the two age groups of children included quinoline yellow, Allura red, sunset yellow, Carmoisine, and sodium benzoate.
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A mixture of artificial colorings, including sunset yellow, Carmoisine, tartrazine, ponceau 4R, and sodium benzoate preservative.
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Some of the most dangerous preservatives out there are sodium benzoate, sodium nitrate, propyl gallate, thimerosal, and potassium bromate.
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Sodium benzoate is commonly added to sodium benzoate soft drinks to prevent spoilage.
Synonyms
A white salt used to stop food and drinks from going bad
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term is fully compositional: 'sodium' + 'benzoate' denotes the sodium salt form of benzoate, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it is a chemical salt/compound (likely crystalline) used in preservation or chemical processes. Chemical naming follows predictable, cross-linguistic patterns, so the overall meaning is directly derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Sodium benzoate gets its name from its two parts: sodium, a common metal that forms 'salts', and benzoate, a word from 'benzoin', a sticky gum once used in perfumes. So the name simply says it is the sodium 'salt' related to benzoic acid and helps explain why it is used as a food 'preservative'.