[News Terms] Preservative 'Anisic Acid' Used in Chinese Castella Cake

'Benzoic acid (C7H6O2)' is a type of preservative used in food preservatives, antibacterial ointments, and oral rinses.

Benzoic acid naturally occurs in cranberry, plum, prune, cinnamon, and strawberry fruits. Along with sodium benzoate, the white crystalline form of benzoic acid, it has the longest history among preservatives used in the food industry.

The name 'Benzoic' means a high fragrance that drives away all evil spirits. It is known to be named after the resin from the benzoic trees found in Southeast Asia regions such as Java, Sumatra, Vietnam, and Thailand.

Castella.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

Benzoic acid is inexpensive and does not cause discoloration, but its use range is relatively narrow due to its pH range being skewed toward acidity, and it has the disadvantage of potentially causing taste changes during storage. It is suitable for preserving acidic foods such as carbonated beverages, fruit and vegetable juices, and pickled cucumbers but is rarely used in alkaline conditions. Therefore, it can be used in small amounts in some foods but is prohibited in bread products.

Recently, benzoic acid was detected at 0.4422g/kg in Chinese castella products, which exceeds the non-compliance standard of 0.006g/kg by 73 times. Although the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety issued an emergency recall order, it was confirmed that most of the 15 tons imported into Korea had already been sold in the market, leaving almost no quantity to recall.

In 2006, benzene was detected in some vitamin drinks by Dongwha Pharm, causing social controversy. The cause was sodium benzoate. Sodium benzoate, used as a preservative to inhibit natural contaminants such as fungi (yeasts and molds) in fruit drinks, chemically reacted with vitamin C to produce benzene, a carcinogen.

Because of this, benzoic acid is classified as 'GRAS-1 grade' in the United States, guaranteeing the safety of food ingredients and is evaluated as a very safe additive, but it is a very reluctant additive to use in the domestic industry.