E707 – Penicillin G procaine

Description

Antibiotic used in animal feed to promote growth and prevent disease; illegal for use in food production due to potential antibiotic resistance

Risks

Notes

E707 is bacitracin, an antibiotic originally discovered in bacteria found in a wound. It's produced by certain strains of bacteria called Bacillus subtilis or Bacillus licheniformis, which create this compound naturally as part of their survival strategy against competing microorganisms. The antibiotic is extracted from bacterial cultures grown under sterile laboratory conditions, then purified for various uses. While bacitracin has been used as a preservative in some contexts, its primary application has been in animal feed to promote growth and prevent disease in livestock. In theory, it would work as a food preservative by inhibiting bacterial growth that causes spoilage. However, you won't find E707 in any food products on store shelves because its use in food for human consumption is illegal in most countries. E707 is banned from food use due to serious concerns about antibiotic resistance – the growing problem where bacteria become immune to antibiotics, making infections harder to treat. Even its use in animal feed is being phased out or heavily restricted in many countries. The additive is not suitable for any dietary preference because of these safety concerns. Regulatory agencies worldwide have recognized that using antibiotics as food preservatives poses too great a risk to public health, as it could make life-saving medicines less effective when people need them most.