Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, and both sodium and bicarbonate can be poisonous if swallowed in large amounts. To prevent this, the National Capital Poison Control Center recommends keep baking soda out of reach of children. The Center also suggests if baking soda is being used to absorb odors inside a refrigerator, parents ought to put the container as far back in the refrigerator as possible, out of children’s reach.