INDEX

PAGE
SL.NO. TOPIC NO.
1 INTRODUCTION 2-3
2 AIM 4
3 REQUIREMENTS 5
4 THEORY 6
5 PROCEDURE 7
EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION OF
6 KHSO3 8
7 EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE 9
8 EFFECT OF TIME 10
9 CONCLUSIONS 11
10 BIBLIOGRAPHY 12

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 bisulphite is used for the
preservation of colorless food materials
such as fruit juices, squashes, apple and
raw mango chutney. This is not used for
preserving colored 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 mold, 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
discoloring 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
 REQUIREMENTS

Conical flasks Beaker

Peeler
(100 ml)

Requirements

Glass Bottles Pestle and

mortar
 Glass rod Balance
Knife

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, color, texture, etc.) and
nutritional attributes,
3.It does not leave residues,
4.It is cheap and convenient to
apply.
5.It encounters no objection from
consumers and legislators.
6.We require potassium bisulphite,
fresh fruits

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 coloring
matter.
4) The material so obtained is
fruit jam. It may be
used to study the effect
of concentration of and
KHSO temperature and
3 ,

time.

(A)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 every
day.
RECORD:-

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

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

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

e
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

(B)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)

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

I 100 10.00 2.0gm No No No No No

gms gms
change chang change change change
e

II 100 10.00 2.0gm No No No No Slight

gms gms change
change chang change change
 e

III 100 10.00 2.0gm No No Slight Some Some

gms gms change change more
change chang
change
e

Result: The increase in temperature causes

faster fermentation of jam.
(C)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.

CONCLUSIONS
From the experiment, we can
conclude that KHSO3 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.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reference books:
 NCERT CLASS 12 CHEMISTRY BOOK
 NCERT LABORATORY MANUAL
CHEMISTRY
Reference websites:
Wikipedia: -

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