higher SECONDARY

SCHOOL
place.
(AFFLIATED TO C.B.S.E)

LOGO

SESSION

2014-2015

CHEMISTRY- INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

ON

Study of effect of Potassium

bisulphite as a food preservative

Submitted to
Submitted by

Chemistry Teacher,
.
CLASS 12,
Class-12,
Section-A
Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of
true education.

CERTIFICATE

SCHOOL LOGO

This is to certify that the project work titled

Study of effect of Potassium bisulphite as a food
preservative submitted by NAME (class XIIth PCM group) in partial fulfilment of the credit
for the chemistry project evaluation from
SCHOOL , is the bonafide work of the student
done under the guidance and supervision of
Mrs./Mr, Chemistry Teacher during session
2014-2015, as a project report.
NAME:
REGISTRATION NO. :
DATE:

INTERNAL EXAMINER

SUBJECT:
CLASS:
PLACE:

EXTERNAL EXAMINER

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Our project can never begin without you, dear
GOD. Rather than saying thank you to you, you
know that we feel like saying I love you, to you,
always.

We must say thanks to our parents who provided

us sufficient money and help in making of this
project.
Mrs/Mr , you are the real foundation of the
project done by us. Thank you very much. Special
thanks to our Principal, our Vice Principal and our
chemistry teachers, Mr. and Mr who gave support
to us and library which provides all useful books
related to this project.
Next on our thank list are our friends, teachers
who really showered constructive feedbacks and
suggestions without which this project would not
have been in present form.

Project team

Success is not final, failure is

not fatal

DECLARATION

We hereby declare that the project work entitled Study of

effect
of
Potassium
bisulphite
as
a
food
preservative submitted to the SCHOOL, PLACE is a
record of original work done by us, except for quotations

and summaries which have been duly acknowledged, under

the guidance of "Mrs./Mr ". The project has not been
accepted for any credits based on investigatory projects
previously.
Project team

"The ladder of success doesn't

care who climbs it."

INDEX
SL.N
O.

TOPIC

PAG
E
NO.

OBJECTIVE

INTRODUCTION

AIM

APPARATUS REQUIRED

MATERIALS & CHEMICALS

THEORY

PROCEDURE

EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION OF
SUGAR
EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION OF
KHSO3

10

10

EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE

11

11

12

12

EFFECT OF TIME
RESULTS,CONCLUSIONS &
SUGGESTIONS

13

BIBLIOGRAPHY

14

14

NOTES

14

8
9

13

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this
project is to study the
effect of Potassium
bisulphite as a food
Conditio
preservative
ns under
various conditions.
Concentrati
on

Time

Temperatur
e

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
bisulphite)

dioxide(or

potassium

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 colourless food materials
such as fruit juices, squashes, apple and
raw mango chutney. This is not used for
preserving coloured 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 mould,
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
discolouring or browning.

AIM
The aim of this project is to study the
effect of potassium bisulphite as food
preservative.
i. At different temperatures.
ii. At different concentrations and

iii. For different intervals of time.

APPARATUS

Conical flasks

Beaker
Requiremen
ts

Peeler

(100 ml)

Glass
Bottles

Pestle and
mortar

Glass rod

MATERIALS AND
CHEMICALS
Balance

Knife

Potassium
Bisulphite

Requireme
nts

Sugar

Fresh
Fruits

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, colour, texture, etc.) and
nutritional attributes,
#3.It does not leave residues,
#4.It is cheap and convenient to apply
and

#5.It encounters no objection from

consumers and legislators.

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

(A)Effect of concentration of Sugar: 1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Take three wide mouthed reagent bottles labeled as I II

III.Put 100 gms of fruit jam in each bottle.
Add 5.0 gms, 10.0 gms and 15.0 gms of sugar to bottle No.
I, II and III respectively.
Add 0.5 gm of KHSO3 to each bottle.
Mix contents thoroughly with a stirring rod.
Close the bottle and allow them to stand for one week or
10 days at room temperature.
Observe the changes taking place in Jam every day.

Bottle

Wt. of

Wt. of

Wt. of

No.

jam taken

sugar

KHSO3

added
100 gms

5.00 gms

0.5gm

NO

NO

NO

Few

Change

Change

Change

Change

NO

NO

Few

Some

Few

Change

Change

Change

Change

more

II

100 gms

10.00 gms

0.5 gm

Observations (Days)
2
3
4

5
Few
More
Change

Change

III

100 gms

15.00 gms

0.5 gm

NO

Few

Few

Some

More

Change

Change

Change

Change

Change

RECORD:
Result: The increase in concentration of sugar
causes fast decaying

(B)Effect of concentration of KHSO3 :

1.
2.
3.
4.

Put 100 gm of Jam in each bottle.

Add 5.0 gm of sugar to each bottle.
Take bottles labeled as I, II, III.
Add 1.0 gm, 2.0 gm and 3.0 gm of KHSO3 to bottle No. I,

5.

II and III respectively.

Mix the contents thoroughly with a glass rod.
6.

Bottle

Wt. of

Wt. of

Wt. of

No.

jam taken

sugar

KHSO3

added

Observations (Days)
1

e
p

100 gms

5.00 gms

1.0gm

no

no

no

few some

II

100 gms

5.00 gms

2.0gm

no

no

no

no

few

III

100 gms

5.00 gms

3.0 gm

no

no

no

no

no

all the bottles at room temperature for about 10 days and

observe the changes everyday.

RECORD:

Result: The increase in concentration of KHSO3

increase more time of preservation

(C)Effect of temperature:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Take 100 gm of Jam in three bottles lebelled as I, II and

III.
Add 10.0 gm of sugar and 2.0 gm of KHSO3 to bottle No.
I, II and III respectively.
Mix the contents thoroughly with a stirring rod.
Keep bottle No. I in the refrigerator at 0C, bottle No.
II at room temperature (25C) and bottle No. III in a
thermostat at 50C. Observe the changes taking place in
the jam for 10 days.

RECORD:
Bottle

Wt. of

Wt. of

Wt. of

No.

jam

sugar

KHSO3

Observations (Days)

taken

No

No

No

No

No

change

change

change

change

change

No

No

No

No

Slight

change

change

change

change

change

No

No

Slight

Some

Some

change

change

change

change

more

added
I

100 gms

10.00

2.0gm

gms
II

100 gms

10.00

2.0 gm

gms
III

100 gms

10.00
gms

2.0 gm

change

Result: The increase in temperature causes

faster fermentation of jam.

(D)Effect of time:
1.

Take three bottles and label them as I, II and III.

2.
3.
4.

To each bottle add 25 g of Jam and 1 g of potassium

bisulphite.
Keep bottle I for 7 days, bottle II for 14 days and bottle
III for 21 days at room temperature.
Note the changes taking place in each bottle and record
the observations.

Observations(Days)
14
21

Bottle No.
I

No

******

******

II

No

Taste

******

changes

III

No

No

Unpleasant smell
develops

RECORD:

Result: With increase of days, the quality of the

jam deteriorates.

RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS
AND SUGGESTIONS
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.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reference books:

 NCERT CLASS 12 CHEMISTRY BOOKSPART I, II

CONCISE INORGANIC CHEMISTRY BY J.D.LEE
NCERT LABORATORY MANUAL CLASS 12 CHEMISTRY

Reference websites:

www.google.co.in
en.wikipedia.org
www.ncert.nic.in
www.livestrong.com

NOTES