Sodium ascorbate
Sodium ascorbate (E301) is a salt of vitamin C used as an antioxidant to stop fats and colours going off — very often in cured meat, where it also limits the formation of nitrosamines. EFSA classes the ascorbates as safe with no numerical acceptable daily intake.
Sodium ascorbate is the sodium salt of ascorbic acid (E300), used where a less acidic form of vitamin C is wanted. It works as an antioxidant: it is oxidised in place of the fats and pigments it protects.
It is authorised in the EU under Regulation 1333/2008 and shares a group evaluation with the other ascorbates, for which EFSA judged a numerical acceptable daily intake unnecessary. In cured meat it is used with nitrites specifically because it inhibits nitrosamine formation.
On the label
- E-number
- E301
- INS number
- INS 301
- Functional class
- Antioxidant
- Also known as
- Vitamin C salt · Antioxidant 301 · INS 301 · Sodium salt of ascorbic acid
Frequently asked questions
Yes — it contains no animal-derived material. It is the sodium salt of ascorbic acid, which is manufactured from glucose. The same applies to a vegetarian diet.
Yes — the additive itself contains no gluten. A gluten-free claim belongs to the finished product, though — check the pack, not the additive.
It is the sodium salt of ascorbic acid, which is manufactured from glucose and contains no animal-derived material, so the additive itself is not inherently non-halal. Certification applies to a finished product rather than to an additive, so a halal certification mark on the pack is the authoritative signal.
Sodium ascorbate is a form of vitamin C and shares the group acceptable daily intake EFSA judged unnecessary to quantify for ascorbates. One thing is worth knowing in context: in cured meat it is used alongside nitrites, where it reduces nitrosamine formation rather than adding a risk of its own.