Sodium Bicarbonate (“Baking Soda”) has a long and established history. In 3500 BC, Egyptians used Natron, which was primarily made of Sodium Carbonate. This was used as a cleaning agent as well as to make mummies. Sodium Bicarbonate, also called Soda Ash, was first produced in 1791 by a French chemist Nicolas Leblanc. In 1843, Alfred Bird refined Soda Ash to make the first version of baking powder. In 1846, Dr. Austin Church and John Dwight, both New Englanders, made a product that would become a household name, Bicarbonate of Soda and later, ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda.
Baking soda has since been used as a leavening agent in cooking, a mild disinfectant and deodorant, an antacid, a skin balm to treat itching, in toothpaste, a cleaning agent and as a cattle feed supplement. It is benign if ingested, inhaled, or if it comes into contact with skin and for over 30 years, Sodium Bicarbonate has been used in soda blasting.