Potassium Sorbate 200g
Food Grade
Manufactured for the food industry, used by all major food manufacturers, brewers etc.
What is Potassium Sorbate?
Potassium sorbate is the potassium salt of sorbic acid, chemical formula C6H7KO2.
Its primary use is as a food preservative (E number E202). Potassium
sorbate is effective in a variety of applications including food, wine,
and personal care products. Commercial sources are now produced by the
condensation of crotonaldehyde and ketene (Ashford, 1994).
Properties
Potassium
sorbate is produced by neutralizing potassium hydroxide with sorbic
acid, an unsaturated carboxylic acid that occurs naturally in some
berries. The colourless salt is very soluble in water (58.2% at 20 °C).
Production
Potassium
sorbate is produced by reacting sorbic acid with an equimolar portion
of potassium hydroxide. The resulting potassium sorbate may be
crystallized from aqueous ethanol.
Most
of the sorbic acid is generally prepared by a process comprising the
steps of reacting crotonaldehyde with ketene in the presence of a
catalyst (e.g., a fatty acid salt of zinc) to yield a polyester, and
hydrolyzing the polyester with an acid or an alkali, or decomposing the
polyester in a hot water. Most of the Potassium Sorbate created today is
synthetic and not natural. Commercial sources are now produced by the
condensation of crotonaldehyde and ketene (Ashford, 1994).
Uses
Potassium
sorbate is used to inhibit molds and yeasts in many foods, such as
cheese, wine, yogurt, dried meats, apple cider, soft drinks and fruit
drinks, and baked goods. It can also be found in the ingredients list
of many dried fruit products. In addition, herbal dietary supplement
products generally contain potassium sorbate, which acts to prevent mold
and microbes and to increase shelf life, and is used in quantities at
which there are no known adverse health effects, over short periods of
time. Labeling of this preservative on ingredient statements reads as
"potassium sorbate" and or "E202". Also, it is used in many personal
care products to inhibit the development of microorganisms for shelf
stability. Some manufacturers are using this preservative as a
replacement for parabens.
Also
known as "wine stabilizer", potassium sorbate produces sorbic acid when
added to wine. It serves two purposes. When active fermentation has
ceased and the wine is racked for the final time after clearing,
potassium sorbate will render any surviving yeast incapable of
multiplying. Yeast living at that moment can continue fermenting any
residual sugar into CO2 and alcohol, but when they die no new
yeast will be present to cause future fermentation. When a wine is
sweetened before bottling, potassium sorbate is used to prevent
refermentation when used in conjunction with potassium metabisulfite. It
is primarily used with sweet wines, sparkling wines, and some hard
ciders but may be added to table wines which exhibit difficulty in
maintaining clarity after fining.
Some
molds (notably some Trichodema and Penicillium strains) and yeasts are
able to detoxify sorbates by decarboxylation, producing piperylene
(1,3-pentadiene). The pentadiene manifests as a typical odor of kerosene
or petroleum.
Toxicology
Potassium
sorbate is a skin, eye and respiratory irritant, although some research
implies it has a long term safety record and non-toxic profile.
Potassium sorbate exhibits low toxicity with LD50 (rat, oral) of 4.92 g/kg. similar to that of table salt. Typical
usage rates of potassium sorbate are 0.025% to 0.1% (see sorbic acid),
which in a 100 g serving yields intake of 25 mg to 100 mg. Acceptable
daily intakes for human is 12.5 mg/kg, or 875 mg daily for an average
adult (70 kg), according to FAO/World Health Organization Expert
Committee on Food Additives.
What You Will Get
You will receive a large factory sealed pouch bag with zip lock, containing 200g of pure Potassium Sorbate (E202).