Comparing E200 - Sorbic acid vs E249 - Potassium nitrite

Overview

E200 - Sorbic acid

Sorbic acid (E200) is a common food preservative that helps stop molds and yeasts from growing. It works best in slightly acidic foods and has been used safely for decades in many everyday products. It often appears on ingredient lists as sorbic acid or simply E200.

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E249 - Potassium nitrite

Potassium nitrite (E249) is a curing salt used in very small amounts to preserve certain meats and fish. It helps keep dangerous bacteria from growing and gives cured products their familiar pink color and flavor. In the European Union (EU) it is an approved food additive with strict purity and use limits.

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Synonyms
E200
Sorbic acid
E249
Potassium nitrite
Functions
preservative
colour retention agentpreservative
Origins
Plant
Synthetic
Synthetic
Products

Found in 6,918 products

Found in 4 products

Search rank & volume
#2173.2K / mo🇺🇸U.S.
#301630 / mo🇺🇸U.S.
Awareness score

×0.07
under-aware

×10.78
over-aware

Search volume over time

Interest over time for 2 keywords in U.S. during the last 10 years.

Interest over time for 2 keywords in U.S. during the last 10 years.

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Popular questions

  1. Is sorbic acid bad for you?

    Not for most people—it's a widely approved food preservative with low toxicity at permitted levels; rare individuals may experience mild irritation or digestive upset with high exposure.

  2. Is sorbic acid safe for dogs?

    Yes, when used at regulated amounts as a preservative in dog foods it’s considered safe; excessive intake may cause stomach upset in sensitive dogs.

  3. Is sorbic acid safe?

    Yes—it's approved in the EU (E200) and generally recognized as safe (GRAS) in the U.S. at typical food-use levels, with adverse effects uncommon at those amounts.

  4. What is sorbic acid made from?

    Commercially it’s synthesized from crotonaldehyde and ketene; it also occurs naturally in small amounts in rowan (mountain ash) berries.

  5. Is sorbic acid natural?

    It occurs naturally in some fruits, but the sorbic acid used in foods is almost always synthetically produced and is chemically identical to the natural compound.

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  1. How many grams of potassium nitrite are present in 1.48 moles?

    Approximately 126 g, using KNO2 molar mass ≈85.1 g/mol (1.48 mol × 85.1 g/mol).

  2. How many grams of potassium nitrite exist in 143 ml of a 2.80 m solution?

    If 2.80 M (mol/L) was intended, about 34.1 g (0.143 L × 2.80 mol/L × 85.1 g/mol); if 2.80 m (mol/kg solvent), you need the solvent mass or solution density to determine grams.

  3. How many moles of potassium nitrite kno3 are present in a sample with a mass of 85.2g.?

    KNO2 and KNO3 are different: 85.2 g is about 1.00 mol of KNO2 (M≈85.1 g/mol) or about 0.843 mol of KNO3 (M≈101.1 g/mol)—clarify which compound you have.

  4. How to balance potassium nitrite?

    Balance equations by equalizing K, N, and O atoms on both sides; for example, the oxidation is 2 KNO2 + O2 → 2 KNO3, which is balanced as written.

  5. How to make a storm glass without potassium nitrite or ammonium chloride?

    Use a salt‑free formulation: dissolve camphor in ethanol and add distilled water (e.g., ~10 g camphor in 40 mL ethanol plus ~35–40 mL water), seal tightly; it will form temperature‑responsive crystals, but it’s not a true weather predictor and avoids toxic nitrite salts.

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