MODERN MIDDLE EAST

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Session 2023-24

CHEMISTRY PROJECT ON
“STUDY OF EFFECT OF POTASSIUM BISULPHITE AS FOOD PRE- SERVATIVE UNDER
VARIOUS CONDITIONS “

Submitted To: MRS. Nadia Anis

Made By: Sumair Hejib
Class: XII – C
 BONAFIDE Certificate
S E S S I O N : 2023- 24

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT Sumair Hejib OF MODERN MIDDLE EAST

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF CLASS XII HAS COMPLETED HER PROJECT ON THE

TOPIC “STUDY OF EFFECT OF POTASSIUM BISULPHITE AS FOOD PRESERVATIVE

UNDER VARIOUS CONDI- TIONS” DONE UNDER THE SUPERVISION AND

GUIDANCE OF OUR CHRMISTRY TEACHER Mrs. Nadia Anis IN SESSION

2023-2024

Signature Of Principal :
Signature Of Teacher :
Remark By Examiner :

Signature of Examiner : Date :

1
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I Sumair Hejib of class XII would like to
express my gratitude towards the principal, Mrs.
Shabana Parveen, and my chemistry teacher, Mrs.
Nadia Anis, who gave me this golden opportunity to
explore my skills and imagination towards the project
entitled as “study of effect of potassium bisulphate as
food preservative under various conditions” and my
parents who helped me take this project to the next
level.

Sumair Hejib
Class XII

2
 INDEX
S. CONTENTS
NO.
1) Aim 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 concentra-tion of potassium bi-
sulphite and the effect of time

11) Study of effect of temperature

12) Conclusion
13) Bibliography

3
 AIM OF THE PROJECT

The Purpose Of This Project Is To Study The Effect

Of Potassium Bisulphite As a Food Pre- servative
Under Various Conditions Such As Given Below :

CONCENTRATION: In chemistry, concentration can be

defined as the measure of the relative proportions of two or more
quantities in a mixture.

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 ac- tion took place
during that process.

TEMPERATURE: Temperature is the degree or intensity

of heat of that substance which is ex- pressed according to
a comparative scale in graph and shown by a thermometer.

4
 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.CH7 6 O2 )
2.Potassium hydrogen sulphite (or potassium bisulphite
i.e. KHSO3) .

 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 preservative because it is soluble
in water and hence easily mixes with the food
product. The ability 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 produced from this chemical is a
5
 bleaching agent .
Potassium bisulphite on reaction with acid of the juice
liberates Sulphur di-oxide which is very effective in
killing the harmful microorganisms present in food
and thus prevents it from getting spoiled.

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 .

6
 APPARATUS WE ARE GOING TO USE
IN THIS PROJECT ARE AS FOLLOWS :

-CONICAL FLASKS – It is a glass laboratory flask of a conical

profile with a narrow tubular neck and a flat bottom , used to
manipulate solutions or to carry out titrations .

-GLASS ROD – a glass rod is a piece of equipment used to mix

chemical and liquids 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 liquid
into the funnel .
-POTASSIUM BISULPHITE – It is a chemical compound
with the chemical formula KHSO3 . It is used during the production of
alcoholic beverages as a sterilizing agent It is made by the reaction
sulphur dioxide and the reaction of potassium carbonate .

The sulfur dioxide is passed through a solution of the potassium

carbonate until no more carbon dioxide is given off. The solution is
concentrated and then allowed to crystallize .

-KNIFE
-SUGAR
-FRUIT

7
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 the action of enzymes that
causes the food to rot.

8
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 themselves require
only a cool dark place to ensure many months' storage. Cold stores
provide large-volume, long-term stor- age for strategic food stocks
held in case of na- tional emergency in many countries .

9
 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 prevent the remaining bacteria from growing. The milk is
then stored in sterilized bottles or pouches in cold places. This
method was invented by Louis Pasteur, a French chemist, in 1862.

B. ARTIFICIAL FOOD ADDITIVES :

Preservative food additives can be antimicrobial
— which inhibit the growth of bacteria or fungi, including mold - or
antioxidant, such as oxygen absorbers, which inhibit the oxidation
of food constituents. Common antimicrobial preservatives include
calcium propionate, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, sulfites (sulfur
dioxide, sodium bisulfite, potassium hydrogen sulfite, etc.), and
EDTA.

C) BIOPRESERVATION
Biopreservation is the use of natural or controlled micro biota or
antimicrobials as a way of preserving food and extending its shelf life.
Bene ficial bacteria or the fermentation products produced by these
bacteria are used in biopreservation to control spoilage and render
pathogens inactive in food. Lactic acid bacteria have antagonistic
properties that make them useful as bio- preservative

10
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 preservation 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 .

11
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 ,
during 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) , lowering or in- creasing temperature ,
increasing the con- centration of salt or sugar or acid in
foods . F or the preservation of green leafy vegeta- bles ,
the water should be removed from the leaf so that micro
organisms cannot survive
. This is done by drying the green leaves till all the
moisture evaporates .
b) Inactivating enzymes : Enzymes found in foods
can be inactivated by changing their conditions such as
tempera- ture or moisture . One of the method for
preservation of peas is that to put them in boiling water
for few minutes . It will inac- tivate the enzymes present
in peas .

12
ROLE OF FOOD PRESERVATION
1. Eliminates any potential microbiological harm to the
consumer .

2. Maintains quality of food (sensory percep- tions)

3. Maintains nutritional value within the food product.

13
 PROCEDURE
1. Take 500 g fresh apples. Wash them thor- oughly 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 con- tents slowly for
about 10 minutes to prepare jam .

3. During heating keep on stirring the contents .

4. Use this jam for performing the following ex- periments .

STUDY OF EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION 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 .

14
 4. For some days check for any growth of micro –
organisms after each day and record the
observations in a table .

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

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 potassium 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 % .

15
 STUDY OF EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE
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
1 2 3 4 5
Bottle Added

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

RESULT : The growth of micro – organisms occurs earliest in

the flask kept at room temperature . The preservation of jam by
potassium bisul phate is maximum at lower temperature (0-5◦ C)

16
CONCLUTIONS
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 .

17
 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 oxidize and lose
some of its antimicrobial pow- er.also prevents browning or
discoloration of food Potassium bisulphite is more stable than
potassi- um sulfite. In humid conditions, however, the dry salt may

18
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 NCERT class 12 th chemistrty

 COMPREHENSIVE practical chemistry

class 12

 Other tool used for reference used in this mproject

are given below :

GOOGLE

WIKIPEDIA

19