ST.

JOSEPH’S CONVENT SCHOOL

CHEMISTRY PROJECT ON

STUDY OF EFFECT OF POTASSIUM

BISULPHITE AS FOOD PRESERVATIVE

SUBMITTED TO: Submitted By:

Mrs. Astha Malh otra Yashieta Sethi

(PGT CHEMISTRY) (XII A)

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 CERTIFICATE
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT PROJECT RE-
PORT ON THE TOPIC “STUDY OF EFFECT
OF POTASSIUM BISULPHITE AS FOOD PRE-
SERVATIVE UNDER VARIOUS CONDITIONS”
SUBMITTED FOR THE FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWAD CLAS XII
FROM ST. JOSEPH’S CONVENT SCHOOL IS A
RECCORD BENIFIT WORD CARRIED OUT
BY YASHIETA SETHI.

THE ASSISTANCE AND THE HELP RE-

CEIEVED DURING THE PROJECT HAVE
BEEN ACCKNOWLEDGED

MRS. ASTHA MALHOTRA SISTER PRAMELA EXAMINER

(PGT CHEMISTRY)

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I Yashieta Sethi of class XII A would
like to express my gratitude to-
wards my chemistry teacher Mrs.
Astha Malhotra and our school
principal Sister Pramela who gave
me this golden opportunity to ex-
plore my skills and imagination
towards the project entitled as
“study of effect of potassium bi-
sulphate as food preservative un-
der various conditions” and my al-
mighty of course my Parents , fel-
low mates and friends who took
this project to next level.

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 INDEX
S. NO. CONTENTS
1 Purpose of the project
2 Introduction
3 Description of apparatus used in
this project
4 Food preservation
5 Need for food preservation
6 Principles of food preservation
7 Role of food preservation
8 Procedure of food processing
9 Procedure
10 Study of effect of concentration of
potassium bisuphite and the effect
of time

11 Study of effect of temperature

12 Conclusion
13 Safety measures while using khso 3
as food preservative
14 Bibliography

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5
 PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The Purpose Of This Project Is To Study The Ef-

fect Of Potassium Bisulphite As a Food Preserva-
tive Under Various Conditions Such As Given Be-
low :

 CONCENTRATION : In chemistry,
concentra-

tion can be defined as the measure of the relative

proportions of two or more quantities in a mix-
ture.

 TIME : Time is nothing but the measure

of

amount of concentration during any process or

activity taking place on that particular level within
the completion of the action took place during
that process.

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 TEMPERATURE : Temperature is the degree
or intensity of heat of that substance which
is expressed according to a comparative
scale in graph and shown by a thermometer.

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 INTRODUCTION
WHAT ARE PRESERVATIVES ?

Growth of micro – organisms in a food ma-

terial can be inhibited by adding certain
chemical substance . However , the chemical
substances should not be harmful to the
human beings . Such chemical substances
which are added to food materials to pre-
vent their spoilage are known as chemical
preservatives . In our country , two chemical
preservatives which are permitted for use
are :

1. Benzoic acid ( or sodium benzo-

ate i .e . C7H6O2 )
2. Potassium hydrogen
sulphite
(or bisulphite
i .e .
potassium
KHSO3) .
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 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 it is used as preserva-
tive because it is soluble in water and
hence easily mixes with the food prod-
uct. The efficacy of benzoic acid and
benzoate is thus dependent on the PH of
the food .
 POTASSIUM BISULPHITE is used
for the preservation of colourless food
materials such as fruit juices , squashes
, apples and raw mango chutney . This
is not used for preserving coloured food
materials because sulphur dioxide pro-
duced from this chemical is a bleaching
agent .
Potassium bisulphite on reaction with
acid of the juice liberates sulphur diox-

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 ide which is very effective in killing the
harmful micro – organisms present in
food and thus prevents it from
getting spoiled .

HSO3– (aq) + H+ (aq)  H O (l)2 + SO (g)

2

The advantage of this method is that no

harmful chemical is left in the food . The
aim of the project is to study the effect of
potassium bisulphite as food preservative :

1. At different temperatures ,

2. At different concentrations
and

3. For different intervals of

time .

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DESCRIPTION OF APPARATUS WE ARE
GOING TO USE IN THIS PROJECT ARE
AS FOLLOWS :
1)CONICAL FLASKS – It is a glass
la- boratory flask of a conical profile
with a narrow tubular neck and a flat
bottom , used to manipulate solutions or to
carry out titrations .

2)GLASS ROD – a glass rod is a piece

of equipment used to mix chemical and
liq- uids for laboratory purposes . After
every use of glass rod it is recommended
that it should be cleaned to avoid
contamination . It is also used as an aid
for transferring the liq- uid into the
funnel .

3)KNIFE – A knife is a tool with

cutting edge or blade attached to a handle .

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4) APPLE – Apple is a kind of fruit
which will help us in making jam in this
experiment.

5)SUGAR – Sugar is nothing but

the sweet – tasting, soluble
carbohydrates , which we use in our food
sometimes . Sim- ple sugars are called
monosaccharide and include glucose (also
known as dextrose) , fructose , galactose .

6) POTASSIUM BISULPHITE – It is a
chemical compound with the chemical for-
mula KHSO3 . It is used during the produc-
tion of alcoholic beverages as a sterilizing
agent.

It is made by the reaction sulphur dioxide

and the reaction of potassium carbonate .

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The sulfur dioxide is passed through a so-
lution of the potassium carbonate until no
more carbon dioxide is given off. The solu-
tion is concentrated and then allowed to
crystallize .

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 MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR THIS
PROJECT
SUGAR
GLASS ROD

CONICAL
FLASKS
100 ML APPARATUS
REQUIRED FOR
THIS PROJECT

APPLES
KNIFE POTASSIUM
BISULPHITE

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FOOD
PRESERVATION
How we can preserve our food ?
We can preserve our food by following
methods :

TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES :

CURING :

The earliest form of curing was dehydration

or drying, . Smoking and salting techniques im-
prove on the drying process and add antimicrobi-
al agents that aid in preservation . Smoke deposits
a number of pyrolysis products onto the food , in-
cluding the phenols syringol guaiacol and ca-
thechol .Salt accelerates the drying process using
osmosis and also inhibits the growth of several
common strains of bacteria . More recently ni-
trites have been used to cure meat, contributing
a characteristic pink colour.[6]

COOLING :

Cooling preserves food by slowing down the

growth and reproduction of microorganisms and
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the action of enzymes that causes the food to rot.
Before the era of mechanical refrigeration , cool-
ing for food storage occurred in the forms of root

cellars and iceboxes. Today, root cellaring re-

mains popular among people who value various
goals, including local food, heirloom crops, tradi-

tional home cooking techniques, family farm-

ing, frugality, self-sufficiency, organic farming,

and others.

FREEZING :

Freezing is also one of the most commonly

used processes, for preserving a very wide

range of foods . For example , potato waffles
are stored in the freezer, but potatoes them-
selves require only a cool dark place to en-
sure many months' storage . Cold stores pro-
vide large-volume , long-term storage
for strategic food stocks held in case of
national emergency in many countries .

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MODERN INDUSTRIAL
TECHNIQUES
A. :
PASTEURIZATION:
Pasteurization is a process for preservation
of liquid food . In this method , milk is
heated at about 70 °C (158 °F ) for 15–
30 seconds to kill the bacteria present in it
and cooling it quickly to 10 °C (50 °F ) to
pre- vent the remaining bacteria from
growing. The milk is then stored in
sterilized b ottles or pouches in cold places.
This method was invented by

LouisPasteur, a French chemist, in 1862.

B. ARTIFICIAL FOOD ADDITIVES :

Preservative food can
additives be antimicrobial
which—inhibit

growth of bacteria or fungi,the including

oxygenab-
mold - or antioxidant, such as
sorbers, which inhibit the oxidation of food

constituents. Common antimicrobial pre-

servatives include calcium propionate, so-

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dium nitrate, sodium ni-

trite, sulfites (sulfur dioxide, sodium bisul-

fite, potassium hydrogen sulfite, etc.),

and EDTA.

c) BIOPRESERVATION :
Biopreservation is the use of natural or con-
trolled micro biota or antimicrobials as a
way of preserving food and extending
its shelf life. Beneficial bacteria or

the fermentation products produced by these

bacteria are used in biopreservation to con-
trol spoilage and render pathogens
inactive in food . Lactic acid bacteria
have antago- nistic properties that make
them useful as biopreservatives.

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NEED FOR FOOD PRESERVATION

Preservation of food is done during

the months when food is available
at large quantity and therefore at
large cost . Reasons of food preserva-
tion are as follows :

1) One of the reason of food preser-

vation is that to take care of
the excess produce .
2) The second reason is that they
add variety in our meals .

3)Makes transportation of
food cheap and easier for us to
live and survive .

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PRINCIPLES OF FOOD PRESERVATION

A good method of food preservation is one

that slows down or prevents altogether the
action of the agents of spoilage . Also , dur-
ing the process of food preservation it
shouldn’t be damaged . The principles of
food preservation are as follows :

a) Removal of micro – organisms

or inactivating them : This is
done by air , water (moisture) , lower-
ing or increasing temperature ,
creasing the concentration of
sugar or acid in foods . F or the in-
preser-
vation of green leafy vegetablessalt
, the
water should be removed from the leaf
so that micro organisms cannot survive
. This is done by drying theor green
leaves till all the moisture evaporates .
b) Inactivatingenzymes :
Enzymes
found in foods can be inactivated by
changing their conditions such as
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temperature or moisture . One of the
method for preservation of peas is that
to put them in boiling water for few
minutes . It will inactivate the en-
zymes present in peas .

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ROLE OF FOOD PRESERVATION

1. Eliminates any potential microbiologi-

cal harm to the consumer .

2. Maintains quality of food (sensory per-

ceptions)

3. Maintains nutritional value within the

food product.

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 PROCEDURE OF
FOOD
PROCESSING

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 PROCEDURE
1. Take 500 g fresh apples. Wash
them thoroughly and peel off the
outer layer . Remove the seeds and
crush the apples in a mixer .

2. Add about 100 g of sugar and heat

the contents slowly for about 10
minutes to prepare jam .

3. During heating keep on stirring the

contents .

4. Use this jam for performing the fol-

lowing experiments .

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STUDY OF EFFECT OF CONCENTRA-
TION OF POTASSIUM BISULPHITE
AND THE EFFECT OF TIME

1. Add 50 g of jam in
each of the four conical flasks
.
2. To flask A add 0.1 g , flask B
0.2 g , flask C 0.5 g and flask
D 1.0 g of potassium
bisul-
phate .
3. Mix the contents in each flask
an leave them undisturbed at
room temperature .
4. For some days check for any
growth of micro – organisms
after each day and record the
observations in a table .

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OBSERVATIONS :

Sample Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of Observation (Days)

No. of Jam Sugar KHSO3
1 2 3 4 5
Bottle Added

A) 50 g 5g 0.1 g No No No Few Few

change change change change more
change

B) 50 g 10 g 0.2g No No Some Some Few

change change change change more
change

C) 50 g 15 g 0.5 g No Few Some Some More

change change change change change

RESULT : As the concentration of potas-

sium bisulphite is increased , the growth of

micro – organisms appears after more days
.The minimum concentration of potassium
bisulphate required for preserving jam is
approximately 1 % .

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 STUDY OF EFFECT OF TEMPER-
ATURE
1) Take three conical flasks and label them
as A, B and C . Add 50 g of jam in
each of the three flasks .
2) Add 0.5 of potassium bisulphate to each of
the three conical flasks .
3) Keep flask A in a refrigerator , flask B at
room temperature and flask C in an oven
maintained at a temperature of 60 ◦
c ,
leave them undisturbed for few days .
4) Check for any growth of micro - organisms
after each day and record the observations
.

OBSERVATIONS :
Sample Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of Observation (Days)
No. of Jam Sugar KHSO3
Bottle Added 1 2 3 4 5

A) 50 g 5g 0.5 g No No No Few Some

B) 50 g 5g 0.5 g No No No No Few

C) 50 g 5g 0.5 g No No No No No
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RESULT : The growth of micro – organ-

isms occurs earliest in the flask kpt at room

temperature . The preservation of jam by po-
tassium bisulphate is maximum at lower
temperature (0-5◦ C).

CONCLUTIONS OF THIS PROJECT :

This experiment shows us that KHSO3

is the viable food preservative whose
increased concentration can increase
time for preservation .The fermentation
of food present is directly proportional
to temperature conditions .

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SAFET Y MEASURES WHILE
USING KHSO3 AS FOOD
PRE- SERVATIVE :
People with sulphite
sensitivity
might react poorly to
potassium
bisulphite . A sulphite sensitivity
usually causes asthma symptoms
such as wheezing or diffi culty
breathing. Some people may also
experience anaphylaxis, which
is a life-threatening allergic re-
action . If you have a
sensitivity to sulphites, you
should avoid any food that
contains potassium bisulphite .

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 How It Works ?

When potassium bisulphite is

dissolved in water, it forms a
sulfurous acid . The acid lowers
the pH of the food , which helps
inhibit the growth of harmful
organisms, including bacteria
such as E. coli , as well as yeast
and mold . The bisulphite oxi-
dize and lose some of its antimi-
crobial power.also prevents
browning or discoloration of food
Potassium bisulphite is more
stable than potassium sulfite . In
humid conditions, however,
the dry salt may

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 NCERT class 12 th chemistrty

 COMPREHENSIVE practical chemistry

class 12

 WEBSITES for reference used in

this project are given below :

GOOGLE → www.google .co.in

WIKIPEDIA→

www.livestrong.com

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