E200: E299 Preservatives

What are E200 to E299 preservatives?

E numbers from E200 to E299 make up the preservatives group. These additives help food last longer by slowing or preventing spoilage. Most work by stopping the growth of bacteria, moulds and yeasts. Without them, many processed foods would spoil within days rather than weeks or months. They're particularly common in products like soft drinks, jams, baked goods, processed meats and pickled foods.

The practice of preserving food is nothing new. Salt, sugar, vinegar and smoke have been used for centuries to make food last. Many modern E number preservatives are synthetic versions of natural substances, while others occur in nature themselves.

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Why preservatives are used in food

Fresh food has a limited lifespan. Bread goes mouldy, meat spoils, and fruit breaks down. For manufacturers and retailers, this creates obvious problems with waste and distribution. For shoppers, it means more frequent trips to the shops and food going off before it can be eaten.

Preservatives help manage these problems by allowing products to sit on supermarket shelves for longer and stay edible in your cupboard or fridge well beyond what would otherwise be possible. Many preserved foods also remain safe to eat for longer after opening, though you should always follow the storage instructions on the packaging.

Worth noting: preservatives can affect the taste and texture of foods, and some may reduce certain nutrient levels over time. This is one reason why fresh and minimally processed foods remain nutritionally preferable where practical.

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Common preservatives in the E200 range

This category includes several different substance groups:

• Sorbic acid and sorbates (E200 to E203): often found in cheese, wine and baked goods
• Benzoic acid and benzoates (E210 to E213): commonly used in soft drinks, sauces and pickles
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (E220 to E228): frequently added to dried fruit, wine and some processed meats
• Nitrites and nitrates (E249 to E252): used mainly in cured and processed meat products
• Propionic acid and propionates (E280 to E283): typically found in bread and baked goods to prevent mould

Some of these preservatives may cause reactions in sensitive individuals. Sulphites, for example, can trigger symptoms in some people with asthma. Foods containing sulphites above certain levels must declare them on the label, as sulphites are one of the 14 major allergens recognised under UK food law. If you have sensitivities or allergies, look for these declarations in the ingredients list, where allergens typically appear in bold.

Nitrites and nitrates have also attracted scrutiny due to concerns about potential health effects when consumed in large quantities over time, though the evidence remains contested and these additives continue to be approved for use within set limits.

Regulation and safety

All food additives used in the UK, including preservatives, must be approved before manufacturers can use them. The Food Standards Agency oversees food additive safety in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while Food Standards Scotland handles this in Scotland. Many existing approvals also draw on European Food Safety Authority assessments conducted before Brexit, with these standards retained in UK law.

Recognised additives undergo safety assessments, and there are limits on how much can be added to different types of food. These limits are set with safety margins, meaning the actual permitted amounts are well below levels considered harmful in normal consumption.

If you want to check whether a specific additive is approved or learn more about permitted levels, the Food Standards Agency website provides detailed guidance. For the underlying regulations, GOV.UK holds the relevant legislation.

Those who prefer to limit their intake of certain preservatives can check ingredient lists, though labelling conventions do vary between products and countries of origin. Products labelled as organic will generally contain fewer synthetic additives, though they may still use some approved preservatives.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our E Number Checker lets you enter an E number or ingredient and find out if it is halal, vegan, or contains animal products. Takes seconds. Try it now →