Kendriya vidylaya No.2 A.F.

S
Pune, maharastra

SESSION : 2022-2023
CHEMISTRY- INVESTIGATORY PROJECT
ON
Study of effect of Potassium bisulphite as a
food preservative

Submitted to:- Mrs. Vrinda Joshi

Submitted by:- Tanuja Waghmare

CLASS : XII ‘B’ ROLL NO. : 12220

 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project work titled “Study of
effect of Potassium bisulphite as a food preservative”
submitted by Tanuja Waghmare (class XII th B* - PCB
group) in partial fulfilment of the credit for the
chemistry project evaluation from “KVS no.2 AFS , Pune”
, is the bonafide work of the student done under the
guidance and supervision of Mrs Vrinda Joshi,
Chemistry Teacher, during session 2022-2023, as a
project report.

INTERNAL EXAMINER :- EXTERNAL EXAMINER :-

Name- Mrs Vrinda Joshi Name -
Sign – Sign -
Remark - Remark -

PRINCIPLE :-
Name - Mrs. Shiny George
Sign –
Remark –
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY SPECIAL THANKS OF GRATITUDE TO MY

SUBJECT TEACHER MRS. VRINDA JOSHI TO GIVE HER GUIDANCE TO
MAKE THE SUCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT I ALSO WANT TO
GIVE SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PRINCIPAL MAAM MRS SHINY GEORGE
WHO GAVE ME THIS GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS WONDERFUL
PROJECT ON THE TOPIC POTASSIUM BISULPHATE AS A FOOD
PRESERVATIVE SO THAT I WILL GET TO KNOW ABOUT DETAILED
INFORMATION FOR THE SAME

Tanuja Waghmare
XII – B
 INDEX
SL.NO PAGE
. TOPIC NO.
1 OBJECTIVE 1
2 CONCENTRATION EFFECT 2
3 INTRODUCTION 3-4
3 AIM 5
4 APPARATUS REQUIRED 6
5 MATERIALS & CHEMICALS 7
6 THEORY 8-9
7 FOOD PRESERVATION 10
7.1 PRINCIPLES OF FOOD PRESERVATION 11
7.2 METHODS OF FOOD PRESERVATION 12
8 PROCEDURE 13
9 EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION OF SUGAR 14
10 EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION OF KHSO3 15
11 EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE 16
12 EFFECT OF TIME 17
13 RESULTS,CONCLUSIONS&SUGGESTIONS 17-18
14 BIBLIOGRAPHY 19
 OBJECTIVE
The objective of this project is to
study the effect of Potassium bisulphite
as a food preservative under various
conditions.

Concentration

Conditionsz

Time Temperature
 CONCENTRATION
EFFECT
Effect of Concentration :-
1)Sugar
2)Temperature
3)KHSO3
4)Time

Sugar

Time
Effect of Temperture
Concentration

KHSO3
 INTRODUCTION
Growth of microorganisms in a food material can be
inhibited by adding certain chemical substances.
However the chemical substances should not be harmful
to human beings. Such chemical substances which are
added to food materials to prevent their spoilage are
known as chemical preservatives. In our country, two
chemical preservatives which are permitted for use are:
1. Benzoic acid(or sodium benzoate)
2. Sulphur dioxide(or potassium bisulphite)
Benzoic acid or its sodium salt, sodium benzoate is
commonly used for the preservation of food materials.
For the preservation of fruits, fruit juices, squashes
and jams sodium benzoate is used as preservative
because it is soluble in water and hence easily
mixes with the food product.
Potassium bisulphiteis used for the preservation of
colourless food materials such as fruit juices,
squashes, apple and raw mango chutney. This is not
used for preserving coloured food materials because
Sulphur dioxide produced from this chemical is a
bleaching agent. Potassium bisulphite on reaction with
acid of the juice liberates Sulphur dioxide which is
very effective in killing the harmful micro-
organisms present in food stuffs and thus prevents it
from getting spoilt.
HSO3–(aq) + H+(aq) H2O(l) + SO2(g)
The advantage of this method is that no harmful
chemical is left in the food. The Manitoba
Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives
reports that this product works to ‘prevent the
growth of mould, yeast and bacteria in foods. It is
also an additive for homemade wine. Potassium
bisulphite is found in some cold drinks and fruit
juice concentrates. Sulphites are common
preservatives in smoked or processed meats and
dried fruits. In spray form, it may help prevent foods
from discolouring or browning.
 AIM
The aim of this project is to study the
effect of potassium bisulphite as food
preservative.

1. At different intervals of time

2. For different concentrations.

 3. At different Temperature.

APPARATUS

Beaker
Peeler
Conical flasks

(100 ml)

Requirements

Glass Bottles Pestle and

mortar

Glass rod Balance Knife

MATERIALS AND
CHEMICALS
Potassium

Bisulphite

Requirements

Fresh
Sugar
Fruits
 THEORY
Food materials undergo natural changes due
to temperature, time and enzymatic action
and become unfit for consumption. These
changes may be checked by adding small
amounts of potassium bisulphite. The
effectiveness of KHSO3 as preservative
depends upon its concentration under different
conditions which may be determined
experimentally. An ideal method of food
preservation has the following characteristics:-

1.It improves shelf-life and safety by

inactivating spoilage and pathogenic
microorganisms,
2. It does not change organoleptic (smell,
taste, colour, texture, etc.) and nutritional
attributes,
3.It does not leave residues,
4.It is cheapand convenient to apply.
5.It encounters no objection from
consumers and legislators.
 ‘‘FOOD PROCESSING’’
Food processing is the transformation of raw ingredients, by physical or chemical
means into food, or of food into other forms. Food processing combines raw food
ingredients to produce marketable food products that can be easily prepared and served
by the consumer. Food processing typically involves activities such
as mincing and macerating, liquefaction, emulsification, and cooking (such as boiling,
broiling, frying, or grilling); pickling, pasteurization, and many other kinds
of preservation; and canning or other packaging. (Primary-processing such as dicing or
slicing, freezing or drying when leading to secondary products are also included.)
Benefits:-Benefits of food processing include toxin removal, preservation, easing
marketing and distribution tasks, and increasing food consistency. In addition, it
increases yearly availability of many foods, enables transportation of delicate
perishable foods across long distances and makes many kinds of foods safe to eat by
de-activating spoilage and pathogenic micro-organisms. Modern supermarkets would
not exist without modern food processing techniques, and long voyages would not be
possible.
Processed foods are usually less susceptible to early spoilage than fresh foods and are
better suited for long distance transportation from the source to the consumer. When
they were first introduced, some processed foods helped to alleviate food shortages
and improved the overall nutrition of populations as it made many new foods available
to the masses.
Processing can also reduce the incidence of food borne disease. Fresh materials, such
as fresh produce and raw meats, are more likely to harbor pathogenic micro-organisms
(e.g. Salmonella) capable of causing serious illnesses.
The extremely varied modern diet is only truly possible on a wide scale because of
food processing. Transportation of more exotic foods, as well as the elimination of
much hard labourives the modern eater easy access to a wide variety of food
unimaginable to their ancestors.

Drawbacks:-Any processing of food can affect its nutritional density. The

amount of nutrients lost depends on the food and processing method. For example,
heat destroys vitamin C. Therefore, canned fruits possess less vitamin C than their
fresh alternatives. The USDA conducted a study in 2004, creating a nutrient retention
table for several foods.
New research highlighting the importance to human health of a rich microbial
environment in the intestine indicates that abundant food processing (not fermentation
of foods) endangers that environment. Using food additives represents another safety
concern. The health risks of any given additive vary greatly from person to person; for
example using sugar as an additive endangers diabetics. In the European Union,
only European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approved food additives (e.g.,
sweeteners, preservatives, stabilizers) are permitted at specified levels for use in food
products. Approved additives receive an E number (E for Europe), simplifying
communication about food additives included in the ingredients' list for all the
different languages spoken in the EU. As effects of chemical additives are learnt,
changes to laws and regulatory practices are made to make such processed foods more
safe.

Principles of food preservation

There are three basic objectives for the preservation of foods:-

1. Prevention of contamination of food from damaging agents.

2. Delay or Prevention of growth of microorganisms in the food
3. Delay if enzymic spoilage, i.e. self – decomposition of the food by naturally
occurring enzymes within it.

The food preservation methods by which the microbial,decomposition of

foods can be delayed or prevented include:-
1. Restrict access of microorganisms to foods (packaging and aseptic packaging),
2. Removal of microorganisms (by filtration orcentrifugation),
3. Slow or prevent the growth and activity of microorganisms (reduction in
temperature, water activity and pH, removal of oxygen, modified atmosphere
packaging and addition of preservatives).
4. Inactivation of microorganisms (by heat, radiations, high hydrostatic pressures,
ultra soundand pulsed electric fields).

These methods usually are also effective against enzymatic activity

or chemical reactions in the food, responsible for its self-
decomposition. Changes in the requirement of consumers in recent
years have included a desire for foods which are more convenient,
higher quality, fresher in flavor, texture and appearance, more
natural with fewer additives and nutritionally healthier than
hitherto. Food industry reactions to these changes have been to
develop less severe or minimal preservation and processing
technologies with less intensive heating or use of less chemical
preservatives. However, minimal technologies tend to result in a
reduction in the intrinsic preservation of foods, and may, therefore,
also lead to a potential reduction in their microbiological safety.. A
major trend is to apply these techniques in new combinations, in
ways that minimize the extreme use of any one of them, and so
improve food product quality.

‘‘Methods of Food Preservation”

1. Physical methods of preservation =>The foods to be preserved are physically
processed or treated in such a way that the metabolic activity of microorganisms and
their spores either slowed down or completely arrested. These various physical
methods used for the preservation of foods are as follows.
Asepsis Keeping quality of foods can be increased by introducing as few spoilage
organisms as possible i.e., by reducing the amount of contamination. In nature, there
are numerous examples of asepsis or removal of microorganisms as a protective factor.
The presence of a protective covering surrounding some foods e.g. shells of nuts,
shells of eggs, skin of fruits and vegetables and fat on meats and fish, prevents
microbial entry and decomposition until it is damaged.

2.Chemical methods of preservation =>In food industries, contamination is

prevented by packaging foods in a wide variety of artificial coverings ranging from a
loose carton or wrapping to the hermetically sealed containers of canned foods.
Moreover, practicing sanitary methods during the processing and handling of foods
reduces total microbial load and thus improves the keeping quality of food. Both
flexible. Many chemicals will kill micro-organisms or stop their growth but most of
these are not permitted in foods; chemicals that are permitted as food preservatives are
listed in Table 5.3.1. Chemical food preservatives are those substances which are
added in very low quantities (up to 0.2%) and which do not alter the organoleptic and
physico-chemical properties of the foods at or only very little.
Preservation of food products containing chemical food preservatives is usually based
on the combined or synergistic activity of several additives, intrinsic product
parameters (e.g. composition, acidity, water activity) and extrinsic factors (e.g.
processing temperature, storage atmosphere and temperature).
This approach minimises undesirable changes in product properties and reduces
concentration of additives and extent of processing treatments.
The concept of combinations of preservatives and treatments to preserve foods is
frequently called the hurdle or barrier concept. Combinations of additives and
preservatives systems provide unlimited preservation alternatives for applications in
food products to meet consumer demands for healthy and safe food.
Chemical food preservatives are applied to foods as direct additives during processing,
or develop by themselves during processes such as fermentation. Certain preservatives
have been used either accidentally or intentionally for centuries, and include sodium
chloride (common salt), sugar, acids, alcohols and components of smoke. In addition
to preservation, these compounds contribute to the quality and identity of the products,
and are applied through processing procedures such as salting, curing, fermentation
and smoking.

PROCEDURE:

1) Take fresh fruits, wash them

thoroughly with water and peel off
their outer cover.
2) Grind it to a paste in the mortar
with a pestle.
3) Mix with sugar and colouring matter.
4) The material so obtained is fruit
jam. It may be used to study
the effect of concentration of
 sugar and KHSO , temperature and 3

time.

(A)Effect of concentration of Sugar:-

1. Take three wide mouthed reagent bottles labeled as I II
III.Put 100 gms of fruit jam in each bottle.
2. Add 5.0 gms, 10.0 gms and 15.0 gms of sugar to bottle No.
I, II and III respectively.
3. Add 0.5 gm of KHSO3 to each bottle.
4. Mix contents thoroughly with a stirring rod.
5. Close the bottle and allow them to stand for one week or 10
days at room temperature.
6. Observe the changes taking place in Jam every day.

Bottle Wt. of jam Wt. of sugar Wt. of Observations (Days)

No. taken KHSO3
added 1 2 3 4 5

I 100 gms 5.00 gms 0.5gm NO NO NO Few Few

Change Change Change Change More
Change

II 100 gms 10.00 gms 0.5 gm NO NO Few Some Few

Change Change Change Change more
Change

III 100 gms 15.00 gms 0.5 gm NO Few Few Some More
Change Change Change Change Change

RECORD:-
Result: The increase in concentration of sugar causes
deterioration of fruit jam due to the growth fungus
(B)Effect of concentration of KHSO3 :–
1. Put 100 gm of Jam in each bottle.
2. Add 5.0 gm of sugar to each bottle.
3. Take bottles labeled as I, II, III.
4. Add 1.0 gm, 2.0 gm and 3.0 gm of KHSO3 to bottle
No. I, II and III respectively.
5. Mix the contents thoroughly with a glass rod.
6. Keep all the bottles at room temperature for about
10 days and observe the changes everyday.

RECORD:-

Bottle Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of Observations (Days)

No. jam taken sugar KHSO3
added 1 2 3 4 5

I 100 gms 5.00 gms 1.0gm no no no few some

II 100 gms 5.00 gms 2.0gm no no no no few

III 100 gms 5.00 gms 3.0gm no no no no no

Result: The increase in concentration of KHSO3

increase more time of preservation
 (C)Effect of temperature:–
1. Take 100 gm of Jam in three bottles labelled as I,
II and III.
2. Add 10.0 gm of sugar and 2.0 gm of KHSO3 to
bottle No. I, II and III respectively.
3. Mix the contents thoroughly with a stirring rod.
4. Keep bottle No. I in the refrigerator at 0˚C, bottle
No. II at room temperature (25˚C) and bottle No.
III in a thermostat at 50˚C. Observe the changes
taking place in the jam for 10 days.
RECORD:-

Bottle Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of Observations (Days)

No. jam sugar KHSO3
taken
added 1 2 3 4 5

I 100 gms 10.00 2.0gm No No No No No

gms change change change change change
II 100 gms 10.00 2.0gm No No No No Slight
gms change change change change change
III 100 gms 10.00 2.0gm No No Slight Some Some
gms change change change change more
change

Result: The increase in temperature causes

faster fermentation of jam.
 (D)Effect of time: –
1. Take three bottles and label them as I, II and III.
2. To each bottle add 25 g of Jam and 1 g of
potassium bisulphite.
3. Keep bottle I for 7 days, bottle II for 14 days and
bottle III for 21 days at room temperature.
4. Note the changes taking place in each bottle and
record the observations.

Observations(Days)
Bottle No. 7 14 21
I No ****** ******

II No Taste changes ******

III No No Unpleasant smell

develops

RECORD:-

Result: With increase of days, the quality of the

jam deteriorates.
 RESULTS,CONCLUSIONS
AND SUGGESTIONS
From the experiment, we can conclude
thatKHSO3 acts as a viable food preservative
whose increased concentration can increase
time for preservation. But increase in
concentration of sugar content in the food
material causes fast decaying. Also, the
experiment shows that rate of fermentation
of food stuffs is directly proportional to
temperature conditions. On passage of
time, even in the presence of KHSO3,the
food gets spoiled. Though potassium
bisulphite is a good food preservative
(class II preservative), it can trigger lung
irritation and asthma. So, our suggestion is
that the usage of food preservatives must
be reduced to the extent possible . Food
containing more amount of sugar is not
favorable to keep for a long time,
Potassium bisulphite is a good
preservative.
Uses=>There are a number of uses for potassium
bisulfite as a food preservative. The Manitoba
Agricul-ture, Food and Rural Initiatives reports
this product works to prevent the growth of mold,
yeast and bacteria in foods. It is also an additive
for homemade wine.

Potassium bisulfate is found in some cold drinks

and fruit juice concentrates. Sulfites are common
preservat-ives in smoked or processed meats and
dried fruits. In spray form, it may help prevent
foods from discoloring or browning.

Availability =>Potassium bisulfite is primarily

a commercial product. You might find this
chemical compound at meat processing plants.
Manufacturers of juice drinks and concentrate will
use potassium bisulfite to increase the shelf life of
their products. The preservative is also available
for home use.
Allergies => Sulphites such as potassium
bisulfite can trigger an attack for thosewith
asthma. potassium bisulfite may cause lung
irritation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reference books:
 NCERT CLASS 12 CHEMISTRY BOOKS- PART
I, II
 CONCISE INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
 NCERT LABORATORY MANUAL - CLASS
12 CHEMISTRY
Reference websites:
Google :-

Website- www.google.co.in
Wikipedia:-

 www.ncert.nic.in
 www.livestrong.com