Question: where does sodium erythorbate come from? 

Answer: SODIUM ERYTHORBATE IS PRODUCED BY FERMENTATION OF CORN SUGAR.\nSodium erythorbate is NOT made from earthworms. This was a popular rumor.\n\nSodium erythorbate is an antioxidant which can be used in various food systems: e.g. meat, fish, beverages, fruit and vegetables, etc. Chemically, it is the sodium salt of erythorbic acid which is recognized as GRAS by the US Food and Drug Administration. It is an epimer (structural mirror image) of sodium ascorbate and is identical in antioxidant effect.\n\nEribate® brand sodium erythorbate is produced by fermentation of corn sugar to meet the specifications outlined in the Food Chemicals Codex (F.C.C.). Eribate® is proven nontoxic in all applications.\n\nSodium erythorbate may be used to preserve freshness in fruit and vegetables. It does this by preventing discoloration and development of off-flavors.\n\nSodium erythorbate serves as an inhibitor of enzymatic browning by scavenging oxygen and by reducing quinones back to polyphenol compounds before they can undergo the reactions to produce brown pigments. Fruit and vegetables can be protected by spraying or dipping them in an aqueous solution of sodium erythorbate. \n\n\n\nErythorbic acid and sodium erythorbate are chemical isomers of ascorbates, they are effective antioxidants for applications that do not require a nutritional claim for vitamin activity. The efficiency of erythorbates as antioxidants depends upon the particular food system, the compounds to be protected, the amount of metal contamination, and the amount of oxygen to be removed form the system. Sodium erythorbate is not fat soluble and is most useful as antioxidant in aqueous systems. Erythorbic acid and sodium erythorbate are permitted food ingredients in the U.S. Japan and European Union.
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