What is preservative

As the name implies  (Thailand food flavour wholesale), preservative is a kind of food additive which can prevent or delay food spoilage. Its essence is a kind of compound, also known as preservation agent, which can inhibit the proliferation of microorganisms or kill microorganisms.

A chemical should be used as a food preservative, first, it is stable and effective in a certain period of time, second, it is non-toxic during use or after decomposition, does not hinder the normal function of gastrointestinal enzymes, and does not affect the activity of normal intestinal flora. Third, it has bacteriostatic or bactericidal effect at lower concentration, fourth, it has no irritating smell and peculiar smell, and fifth, it is convenient to use.

The main sources of preservatives are natural and synthetic  (Thailand food flavour supplier) , of which synthetic commercial applications are the most common. There are 27 kinds of preservatives listed by National food standard in China. Chemical preservatives include organic (such as benzoic acid and its salts, sorbic acid and its salts, p-hydroxybenzoic acid and its esters, lactic acid  (Thailand food Ingredient supplier) , etc.) and inorganic (such as sulfite and its salts, carbon dioxide, nitrite, free chlorine and hypochlorite  (Thailand food flavour supplier) , etc.). Some food additives which are not preservatives have obvious bacteriostatic function, such as sulfite and sulfur have bleaching and antioxidation, so National food standard lists them as bleaching agents, others such as sodium nitrate or sodium nitrite as color protection agent, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as stabilizer and sodium acetate as acidity regulator.

In addition, in recent years, some illegal manufacturers often add unauthorized chemicals as preservatives, causing confusion. Such substances are unauthorized substances, not food additives, and if used, belong to illegal use  (Thailand food flavour wholesale) . the non-edible substances that may be illegally added by the Ministry of Health in 2011 involve antiseptic sodium thiocyanate (milk and dairy products) and industrial formaldehyde (sea cucumbers). Dried aquatic products such as squid, blood tofu. Foods that may abuse food additives include jelly, moon cakes, pickles, etc., dairy products (except cheese) may abuse natamycin, aged grains, rice noodles and aquatic products may abuse sulfite.