Diverse starch-based foods have been widely consumed. To keep the products in good quality, preservatives are added. Sodium benzoate is one of the most commonly used food preservatives for starch-based products. As an antimicrobial compound, high concentrations of sodium benzoate in water can pose risks to aquatic indigenous microbial communities. From wastewater samples of three rice noodle facilities, 27 sodium benzoate-degrading bacteria were isolated on minimal mineral medium supplemented with sodium benzoate (50 mg/L). Isolates SB2.1, SB2.2, SB2.4, SB3.10, and SB3.13 demonstrated their best sodium benzoate degradation efficacy in liquid minimal mineral medium containing 1,250, 2,500, and 5,000 mg/L sodium benzoate, quantitatively measured by the spectrophotometric method at 225 nm. Optimal degradation efficacy (>93%) at 1,250 mg/L sodium benzoate was observed when isolates SB2.1, SB2.2, SB2.4, and SB3.10 were grown in a minimal mineral medium at pH 7-9. Notably, SB3.10 exhibited chemotaxis towards sodium benzoate at 24 hours of incubation. Based on 16S-rRNA gene sequencing and biochemical characterization, SB3.10 was identified as Acinetobacter calcoaceticus SB3.10.