Food & drinkCautionE203

Calcium sorbate

سوربات الكالسيوم

Preservative (EU-delisted)

The verdict

Pulled from EU shelves — its safety couldn't be confirmed.

What it is

The calcium salt of sorbic acid, formerly used as a preservative. No longer permitted in the EU.

⚡ WTF fact

Removed from the EU's approved list in 2018: when re-evaluated, the genotoxicity data needed to clear it simply didn't exist, and no company supplied it. It's not proven harmful — but it couldn't be proven safe, so the EU dropped it. Sorbic acid (E200) and potassium sorbate (E202) remain approved.

Evidence & status

IARC carcinogen group

not_classified

Acceptable intake

no ADI established (EFSA 2015 — insufficient data)

EU status

NOT authorised in EU (deleted by Reg (EU) 2018/98, from 12 Aug 2018; genotoxicity data gap)

US · FDA status

approved (still permitted in US)

Halal status: halal

Synthetically produced calcium salt; halal.

Also known as

E 203 · Calcium (E · E)-hexa-2 · 4-dienoate

Primary source

EFSA ANS Panel (2015). Re-evaluation of sorbic acid (E 200), potassium sorbate (E 202) and calcium sorbate (E 203). EFSA Journal 13(6):4144 — unable to conclude on calcium sorbate (genotoxicity data lacking). Deleted from EU list by Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/98.

Evidence, not medical advice. You decide.

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