Sodium citrate is a multi-functional ingredient that is commonly used in carbonated drinks, powdered drinks, jams, jellies, ice cream, yogurts, processed cheeses, meat, sausage, and ham.

It is mainly used for the following purposes:

Flavoring agent: enhance taste by imparting both a salty and a tart flavor in beverages.
Buffer: commonly used together with citric acid to adjust the PH by reducing the acidity of foods.
Chelating agent: the power of chelating metal ions, e.g. Ca2+, Mg 2+, and Fe2+ in dishwashing and laundry detergents.
Emulsifier: prevent the separation of oil and protein in the cheesemaking process.
Preservative: prevent food spoilage.
Anticoagulant: used as an anticoagulant and prevent blood from clotting by combining calcium ion.
Yogurt
Citric acid adds sour taste to dairy products, but its sour taste is strong, and the sour taste can be eased with the combination of sodium citrate, so these two ingredients are often used together in yogurt to adjust and improve the sour taste.

Cheese
Cheese is an emulsion of dairy fat, protein and water, and it tends to break down at high temperatures.

While it is melting, sodium citrate works as an emulsifier to prevent cheese curdling or the separation of fat and protein by keeping fat and protein together and binding calcium ions in the cheese. The usage in cheese is around 3%, depending on your recipes.

Cheese with sodium citrate can melt evenly and produce a smooth & creamy sauce. This property makes it possible to obtain portable and sliceable cheese (in mold, can take everywhere) in home cooking.

Following cheese products may contain with it:

Cheese sauce
Nacho cheese
Macaroni and Cheese
Beverage
Sodium Citrate is used to adjust the tartness in Coca Cola’s beverages (3). And you can find it in the ingredient lists of Sprite (4), Vitamin water (5) and other drinks. It is also added in sports and energy drinks for such purposes, such as in the products of Redbull and Monster.