Natural Is Not Necessarily Safer: A Probabilistic Assessment of Risk–Risk Trade‐Offs Between Cardiovascular and Genotoxic Effects of Food Preservatives

To extend product shelf life, it is especially important to prevent foods from deteriorating. Apart from the traditional methods of adding salt or sugar in large amounts, other additives, such as food preservatives, can also be applied to achieve the aim of food preservation. This study employs probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) to quantify human health impacts associated with exposure to sodium chloride, sucrose, benzoic acid (BA), and sorbic acid (SA), utilizing cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevalence and micronuclei (MN) induction frequency as dual epidemiological and toxicological endpoints. We evaluated the risks of natural and artificial preservatives in products, such as pickled vegetables, fermented vegetables, candied fruits, and preserved fruits, with the same antibacterial efficiency and under controlled pH and water activity conditions. The results revealed a significant risk trade-off: Although the CVD prevalence associated with natural preservatives reached 16.2%-18.2% across different food categories, the MN frequency induced by artificial preservatives remained comparatively lower at 7.4%-11.6%. The results suggest that combining natural and artificial preservatives may reduce sodium chloride or sucrose intake and the associated cardiovascular health risks compared with using natural preservatives alone. These findings indicate that although limiting high-sodium and high-sugar foods is crucial for cardiovascular health, dietary exposure to artificial preservatives, such as BA and SA, was associated with relatively low estimated genotoxic risks, though potential hepatic or renal impacts warrant further investigation.