Introduction “Baking soda” and “baking powder” are often discussed as if they were two similar versions of the same ingredient. For industrial food manufacturers, however, the distinction matters. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate itself. Baking powder is a formulated leavening system that contains sodium bicarbonate together with one or more acid components and, typically, other ingredients needed to control stability and reaction behavior. Understanding this difference is important because chemical leavening affects much more than product volume. It can also influence: dough or batter pH; gas-generation timing; color development; texture; flavor; processing stability; and production consistency. Codex identifies sodium hydrogen