Body & Beauty / Compounds / Sodium citrate

Sodium citrate on your skin: a safety profile

Low risk

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Ubiquitous buffer/sequestrant; GRAS; EU E331; very low toxicity; high doses cause GI effects; blood thinning at extreme doses (anticoagulant in blood banking)

What is sodium citrate?

Also known as: TRISODIUM CITRATE, Citrosodine, Natrocitral, Citric acid, trisodium salt.

CAS number
68-04-2
Molecular formula
C6H5Na3O7
Molecular weight
258.07 g/mol
SMILES
C(C(=O)[O-])C(CC(=O)[O-])(C(=O)[O-])O.[Na+].[Na+].[Na+]
PubChem CID
6224

Risk for people

Low risk

Ubiquitous buffer/sequestrant; GRAS; EU E331; very low toxicity; high doses cause GI effects; blood thinning at extreme doses (anticoagulant in blood banking)

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified Sodium citrate.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
Regulatory Framework—Regulated under food safety frameworks (FDA GRAS, EU food additive regulations)

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where you encounter sodium citrate

  • Food — beverages, processed food, dairy
  • Personal Care — shampoo, cosmetics
  • Consumer Products — detergent

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Sodium citrate:

  • Natural preservatives; Clean-label ingredients; Minimally processed food
    Trade-offs: Consumer label appeal ('clean label'); variable efficacy depending on food matrix and target pathogen; may alter flavor/color; regulatory status varies by jurisdiction; often more expensive per unit of preservation effect.
    Relative cost: 2-5× conventional

Frequently asked questions

What products contain sodium citrate?

Sodium citrate appears in: beverages (Food); processed food (Food); shampoo (Personal care); cosmetics (Personal care); detergent (Consumer products).

See Sodium citrate in the body app

Look up products containing sodium citrate, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

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Sources (1)
  1. PubChem Compound Database (2026) — database

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →