Comparing E200 - Sorbic acid vs E284 - Boric acid
Overview
Synonyms
Products
Found in 6,918 products
Found in 7 products
Search rank & volume
Awareness score
Search volume over time
Interest over time for 2 keywords in U.S. during the last 10 years.
Interest over time for 3 keywords in U.S. during the last 10 years.
Popular questions
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Is orthoboric acid the same as boric acid?
Yes—orthoboric acid (also called boracic acid) is the same compound as boric acid (H3BO3), designated as E284.
How does orthoboric acid poison work on insects?
It acts as a slow-acting stomach poison and desiccant: ingested boric acid disrupts the insect gut and enzyme function, and contact can damage the exoskeleton, leading to dehydration and death.
How does orthoboric acid work?
As a food additive (E284), it functions as a preservative by inhibiting microbial growth in certain tightly restricted uses (e.g., caviar in some regions). Outside food, it serves as a mild antiseptic and a slow-acting insecticidal desiccant/stomach poison.
How long does orthoboric acid kill ants?
After ingesting bait, individual ants typically die within 24–48 hours; noticeable colony reduction often appears in 3–7 days, with full control taking 1–3 weeks depending on species and bait formulation.
How much orthoboric acid must be ingested to be harmful?
Acute harm generally requires gram-level doses; case reports suggest about 15–20 g may be potentially lethal for adults (with much lower amounts posing serious risk to children). For long-term exposure, a commonly cited upper level for boron is 10 mg/day (≈57 mg/day as boric acid) for adults.