Seven misconceptions about food preservatives, scientific and rational application of preservatives:

1. Food preservatives can kill microorganisms. To prevent food spoilage, it is better to use as many as possible within the standard range.

Wrong, although some food preservatives have the function of damaging microbial cell membranes, proteins, or other structures, which can cause the death of some microorganisms, most food preservatives mainly work by inhibiting the growth and reproduction of microorganisms, that is, the mechanism is to destroy the conditions for their growth and reproduction, making it impossible for them to grow and reproduce rapidly, in order to achieve a controlled microbial population. Most preservatives are not beneficial substances for the human body, and in order to save costs, they are used as little as possible. Moreover, using too many preservatives may also affect the taste and performance of the product.

2. Food processing needs to undergo sterilization treatment in the later stage, so the hygiene level of raw materials and processes in the early stage is not so important.

Wrong, in the vast majority of cases, food sterilization is partial sterilization, leaving a small amount of microorganisms or spores. If too many microorganisms are introduced during the early processing, there will also be more residual microorganisms or spores after sterilization. In this case, the effectiveness of food preservatives is greatly reduced.

Note: The function of preservatives is to control when there are few microorganisms, not to kill when there are many microorganisms;

3. According to the national standard 2760, five types of preservatives A, B, C, D, and E can be used in food products. Therefore, each preservative should be effective in preventing corrosion, and only one of them needs to be selected for use.

Wrong, each food preservative has its corresponding effective range and usage conditions. For example, some preservatives are effective against Gram positive bacteria, some are effective against Gram negative bacteria, and some have particularly good bactericidal effects against mold. Moreover, the working conditions of each preservative are also different. Some are effective in acidic environments, while others can be used in neutral environments. Therefore, the appropriate food preservative should be selected according to the product characteristics.

4. The maximum allowable addition amount of preservative A in a certain type of food is 0.2mg/L, the maximum allowable addition amount of preservative B is 0.3mg/L, and the maximum allowable addition amount of preservative C is 0.4mg/L. Due to the immature processing conditions and formula, to prevent food spoilage, three preservatives A, B, and C can be used simultaneously, with dosages of 0.2mg/L, 0.3mg/L, and 0.4mg/L, respectively.

Wrong, according to GB2760-2014, when food additives with the same function (coloring agents, preservatives, antioxidants of the same color) are mixed and used, the sum of their respective proportions to their maximum usage should not exceed 1.

5. The maximum allowable amount of preservative A in a certain type of food is 0.2mg/L, and the addition amount is strictly controlled at 0.2mg/L. The preservative in the product will never exceed the standard.

Wrong, and many of them may not be mixed evenly during the use of preservatives. Some ingredients used in food processing may also contain the same preservatives, which can lead to excessive testing due to the addition of preservatives.

6. In order to effectively control the microorganisms in the product, the combination of preservatives with different antibacterial spectra is definitely more effective than using only one preservative.

Wrong, the combination of food additives can have three effects: synergistic effect, additive effect, and antagonistic effect. The use of preservatives generally involves the combination of the same type of preservative, such as acidic preservatives and their salts, or the combination of several esters of the same acid. Therefore, when two or more food preservatives are compounded, it is necessary to first determine which type of interaction they belong to.

7. When designing anti-corrosion processes, the longer the anti-corrosion time, the better.

Wrong, food itself will be lost over time, and its nutritional content, color, and other characteristics will also change accordingly. Simply inhibiting microorganisms to prolong the preservative effect is not meaningful. Moreover, consumers are more inclined to purchase fresh products, so even if the shelf life of the product is extended to a few years, it does not have much practical significance.

Based on the above seven misconceptions, let's have a more scientific understanding of food additives. Reasonable addition of food preservatives is not a problem. If there is illegal excessive addition, it will cause harm to the human body. So how to determine whether the addition of food preservatives exceeds the standard?

The Shenfen Instrument CSY-DS8015 Food Additive Analyzer can quickly determine various preservatives in food, such as benzoic acid, sorbic acid, potassium sorbate, calcium propionate, etc. It is suitable for food monitoring centers, food production and processing self inspection, food processing and trade, and industrial and commercial quality supervision departments for rapid market screening.