Ningxia Red and Benzoate - FACTS vs FICTION

Ningxia Red and Benzoate

FACTS vs FICTION (VERSION 3)

Sodium Benzoate is one of the least problematic of all the preservatives. If Young Living didn't use a small amount of preservative in Ningxia Red, it would turn to wine or vinegar. Young Living does not irradiate or cook the juice to the point of not needing a preservative. Juices without a preservative have been overheated or processed to point where they have little bioactivity, enzymes, antioxidants, or nutrients. 

In fact, Ningxia Red is the highest known antioxidant liquid supplement available, a testament to both its bioactivity and stability. Young Living scientists have added the least of amount of benzoate needed to create the most bioactive infusion in existence.

Sodium benzoate is freely found in nature, and in fact, even organically grown cranberries or prunes can contain levels of benzoic acid that exceed the legal limit imposed by the FDA on U.S. food manufacturers (0.1% by weight), although the level normally found in berries will be in the range of 0.05 to 0.1%. Natural sodium benzoate is not harmful.

According to Gil Stoewsand, Faculty, Food Science & Technology, Cornell University: “Sodium benzoate is a very widespread food preservative used much under 0.1% in many foods from soup to cereals. The considerable time between the production and the consumption of food today makes some use of preservatives necessary in order to prevent spoilage and undersirable alterations in color, flavor, or nutrients. Degradation pathways for benzoic acid (produced in the body from the sodium salt) have been studied in detail and have shown the harmlessness of this substance: 75-80% is excreted within 6 hours, and the total dose leaves the body within about 10 hours. It does not cause cancer. The limit of sodium benzoate in foods is not because of its toxicity, but at levels higher than 0.1% will leave an unacceptable aftertaste. Foods containing this preservative are much healthier than non-preservative foods since harmful microorganism growth is inhibited, food oxidation is prevented, and food nutrients are preserved.

Chronic toxicities were examined in rats fed diets containing up to a total of 1%. After 4 generations there were no changes in normal patterns of growth, reproduction, lactation and no morphological abnormalities of organs. Acute toxicity studies, where one large dose of sodium benzoate is given to animals, showed no lethal effects until 2 grams per kg. body wt. was administered. One could not eat enough foods containing sodium benzoate to even get 0.002% of this amount!

Limits of sodium benzoate in foods is not because of toxicity, but it will impart a taste that will make some foods unacceptable. This is a very non-toxic compound and foods containing preservatives are usually much healthier since harmful microorganism growth is inhibited, oxidation is checked, and nutrients, natural or added, are saved.”

The Benzoate-Benzene Connection.

Recently attention has been focused on high levels of benzene in common vitamin C-supplemented soft drinks. In recent years, independent analyses performed by laboratories in New York, found benzene levels in carbonated beverages at two-and-a-half-times and five times above the World Health Organization limit for drinking water (10 parts per billion). In many cases these levels exceeded 85 parts per billion.

Dr. Glen Lawrence, a chemist who conducted extensive benzene testing for the FDA, confirmed that sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid may react under certain conditions to form benzene. This occurs commonly in soft drinks. 

He found that ascorbic acid readily oxidizes in the presence of carbonic acid, heat, and transition  metals, such as iron or copper, to create 'free radical' hydroxyl particles. These hydroxyl radicals attack benzoic acid, stripping away a carbon dioxide molecule.  Benzene is thereby created. It is important to note that this reaction occurs in the presence of either heat or carbonic acid, conditions common to almost all carbonated beverages.

In sum, Dr. Lawrence made it very clear that in order for benzene to be created in  a liquid beverage, a benzoate must be combined with:

1. Vitamin C

2. Carbonic Acid

3. Low antioxidant environment

4. Heat 

In the Ningxia Red, it is important to note that only two out of these four conditions are present. And regarding heat for pasteurization, only minimal heat is used in the low-temperature flash pasteurization of the Ningxia Red. 

According to Dr. Lawrence, benzene is created only where an abundance of free radicals exists in solution, usually created by a combination of heat and/or carbonic acid. In contrast to the poor antioxidant levels of most soft drinks, Ningxia Red is one of the most potent antioxidant liquid supplements ever tested. 

This unequalled antioxidant profile prevents the creation of benzene in the Ningxia Red juice.  Moreover, the absence of carbonic acid further protects the vitamin C in Ningxia Red from forming the free radicals.

The proof is clear: Independent laboratory tests of Ningxia Red for benzene found that it easily exceeds both the World Health Organization limit for drinking water (10 parts per billion) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water safety standard (five parts per billion). 

World regulatory agencies can't set benzene limits for foods and beverages, because benzene occurs at normal natural levels in our food supply, i.e. eggs (1000-1900 ppb) haddock fish (200 ppb) beef (10 ppb) and at even lower levels in organic fruits/veggies. 

Even though NingXia Red is a whole fruit infusion product and is not required to meet drinking water guidelines it tests at a minuscule 4 ppb. This is not only below the EPA's and WHO's a stringent drinking water guideline it is at the expected natural level considering the concentration of its whole fruit ingredients. 

In fact, the benzene levels in Ningxia Red are so low that one medium raw egg (61 grams) has over 1000 times the  benzene as a one ounce serving of Ningxia Red.

As a side note, it would be nearly impossible to entirely eliminate benzene from the diet. Trace amounts of benzene are a nearly ubiquitous component of many foods including, red beans, leeks, parsley, soybean milk, cocoa, apples, oranges,  cranberries, bilberries, strawberries and more. However, by using high antioxidant dietary additions, it is possible to minimize any of its negative effects on the body.  And Ningxia Red is one of the most powerful known antioxidants with a number of documented health benefits, including supporting eye health, vascular health, and liver fiction. And it is the only liquid infusion to contain therapeutic grade essential oils.