E500Raising agentAcidity regulator
What Is E500? Sodium Carbonates and Where It Is Used
Also known as: Sodium bicarbonate, Baking soda
E500 is the shared number of the sodium carbonates. The best known is sodium bicarbonate, baking soda, which is E500(ii). It is used as a raising agent in baked goods and to adjust acidity.
- In the Besin database
- 1,220 products
- About 10.5 in every 100 products
- Source
- Mineral
- Acceptable daily intake (ADI)
- No numerical value set
What does E500 do?
Sodium bicarbonate releases carbon dioxide when it meets an acid or heat, and this gas makes cakes, biscuits and crackers rise. In baking powder it usually comes with an acidic salt such as E450 diphosphates.
How is it made?
Sodium carbonate is made industrially from salt and limestone or obtained from natural soda ash (trona) deposits. Sodium bicarbonate is made by reacting sodium carbonate with carbon dioxide.
Vegan and halal: No animal raw material is used; it suits vegan and vegetarian diets.
Which products contain E500?
1,220 of the 11,663 packaged products in the Besin database list E500 (Sodium carbonates) in their ingredients. The categories where it appears most often:
- Coated and Stick Biscuits113 products
- Cream and Sandwich Biscuits113 products
- Mini Cakes78 products
- Wafers70 products
- Chocolate Coated Wafers57 products
- Single-Serve Ice Cream39 products
Numbers as of the database snapshot of October 18, 2026.
Official evaluation
The international JECFA committee saw no need for a numerical ADI for sodium carbonates ("ADI not specified"). When this page was written we found no finished EFSA re-evaluation opinion for it. It is permitted in Türkiye and the EU.
Food additives are regulated by the EU food additives regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008) and, in Türkiye, the Turkish Food Codex Regulation on Food Additives (Official Gazette, 30.06.2013, No. 28693). The ADI is the amount estimated to be safe to take every day over a lifetime, given per kilogram of body weight.
Frequently asked questions
Is E500 the same as baking soda?
Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, E500(ii). The number E500 covers sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and sodium sesquicarbonate together.
Is baking powder the same as E500?
No. Baking powder is a mix: it usually contains sodium bicarbonate (E500), an acidic salt such as E450 diphosphates, and starch.
Which products contain E500 most often?
In the Besin database it appears most often in coated and cream biscuits, mini cakes and wafers.
Related additives
Sources
- EFSA: Food additives
- the EU food additives regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008) and, in Türkiye, the Turkish Food Codex Regulation on Food Additives (Official Gazette, 30.06.2013, No. 28693)
Last reviewed: . This page is for information only and is not medical advice. To report a mistake, write to iletisim@besin.app.