The daily intakes of benzoates and sorbates from selected food categories were estimated in Brazil in 1999. The Budget method was used as a first screening procedure for the estimation of the safety aspects of the maximum permitted levels of benzoates and sorbates established by the Brazilian food legislation. This screening indicated that benzoates should be further investigated. In a second step, the daily intakes of these preservatives were assessed by combining measured levels of these additives with national food consumption data derived from a household economic survey and a packaged good market survey. Benzoate and sorbate levels in soft drinks, fruit juices, margarine, yoghurt and cheese were determined by HPLC with a photodiode array detector (detection at 228 nm for benzoic acid, 260 nm for sorbic acid). The estimated intakes of benzoates and sorbates for the average consumer were below the ADIs, ranging from 0.3 to 0.9 and 0.2 to 0.3 mg kg(-1) body weight, respectively. Soft drinks were identified as the main source of benzoates representing >80% of the estimated intake.