LABORATORY REPORT

FOOD PRESERVATION
FST 254

TITLE : EFFECT OF BENZOIC ACID ON THE

SHELF-LIFE OF CHILLI SLURRY
EXPERIMENT : PRACTICAL 1
NAME (W/STUDENT ID) : NUR FARHANAH HUSAINI BINTI MD
NADZARI
(2016836794)
: NUR MUSFIRAH BINTI AHMAD FAZILAH
(2016614854)
: AININ NADHIRAH BINTI ABD MANAN
(2016618814)
: ANIS SYAHIRAH BINTI ABDUL MAJID
(2016614876)
: WAN ‘ARIFAH BINTI WAN MOHAMMAD
(2016618998)
: NUR FASIHAH BINTI YUSOFF
(2016614822)

GROUP : AS1164C2
SUBMISSION DATE : 26 APRIL 2018
LECTURER’S NAME : MADAM NADYA BINTI HAJAR

INTRODUCTION

Chilli slurry, a food ingredient widely used in Malaysian households and food outlets,
is prepared from dried chillies which have been soaked in water and blend into a fine paste.
It is a popular ready-to-use ingredient that makes cooking less tedious (M. A. Nor Azni and
Q. L. Yeoh, 1998).

Preservatives are important in order to extend the life of processed food. The
absence of preservatives accelerates the growth of mould, yeast and bacteria. This problem
creates challenges to food manufacturing industry. The choice of food preservatives depend
on the pH, moisture, processing conditions, packaging conditions, and storage temperature
and distribution requirements. There are a lot of preservatives available in food industry.

Benzoic acid and its salts are used as food preservatives. Benzoic acid inhibits the
growth of mould, yeast and some bacteria. It is either added directly or created from
reactions with its sodium, potassium, or calcium salt. The mechanism starts with the
absorption of benzoic acid in to the cell. If the concentration of the benzoic acid is higher, the
shelf-life of the food will be increase. The efficacy of benzoic acid is thus dependent on the
concentration of the benzoic acid.

Typical levels of use for benzoic acid as a preservative in food are between 0.05–
0.1%. Foods in which benzoic acid may be used and maximum levels for its application are
laid down in international food law. One of the effective ways of controlling microbial growth
is, therefore, by pH control. A number of organic acids can be used as antimicrobials or
acidulants. The main organic acids used as antimicrobials are benzoic, propionic and sorbic
acids, and their salts, besides acetic, lactic, malic, citric and tartaric acids. All these acids
have “Generally Regarded As Safe” (GRAS) status if used at levels below 1 000 ppm
(Giese, 1994), and are more effective at low pH when they are in their undissociated forms
(Doores, 1983).

OBJECTIVE

To study the shelf-life of chili slurry preserved at different concentration of benzoic acid.

MATERIALS

1. Dried chilli 200g

2. Water 100mL
3. Benzoic acids 500 ppm, 1000 ppm, 2000 ppm
METHODS

1. Dried chilli was cleaned by rinsing it under running tap water.

2. The chilli was boiled to soften it. It was drained and cooled it to room temperature.
3. The chilli was blended with water at a ratio of 2 : 1.
4. The pH of the chilli slurry was measured and recorded in the Data Sheet.
5. Four bottles was labelled with 0 (control), 500, 1000, 2000 ppm respectively of the
preservatives used.
6. The same amount of chilli slurry was weight out into each of the labelled bottle.
7. Then, the preservatives were weighed out as accurately as possible according to the
labelled bottle.
8. The content was stirred thoroughly (at least five minutes of continuous stirring) and it
was covered with aluminium foil or Parafilm.
9. The bottle was arranged and stored at room temperature.
10. The sample was observed daily to see signs of spoilage for two weeks.

DISCUSSION

In the present of work, benzoic acid was used as antimicrobial agent in order to
preserve the chilli slurry at room temperature. The experiment was conducted to determine
the shelf life of chilli slurry with the addition of benzoic acid at a different concentration which
are at 0 ppm, 500 ppm, 1000 ppm and 2000 ppm. In this experiment, we used 4 bottles that
contain chilli slurry and also preservatives where the content was stirred thoroughly for five
minutes. Then, the sample was observed daily to see the changes or sign of spoilage that
may occurred in the food.
We were going to observed about mould growth, slime formation, bubbles
formation, off odour, and colour changes. The result was recorded in the table 1.2. Moreover,
we were also plotted the graph for each spoilage sign with different concentration of benzoic
acid which refers to the table 1.2. For graph 1 is about mould growth versus days, graph 2 is
about slime formation versus days, graph 3 is about bubbles formation versus days, graph 4
is about off odour versus days and graph 5 is about colour changes versus days. Based on
the result we were obtained the concentration of 0 and 500 ppm have the most number of
mould formation. We can see the concentration of 0 ppm, the mould was formed in
moderate amount at day 4 and in excessive amount of mould are from day 5 until 10
meanwhile for 500 ppm , the mould was growth in moderate amount at day 5 and turn to
excessive amount of mould from day 7 to 10. Besides, both concentration of 1000 ppm and
2000 ppm have a lower amount of mould formation in food. At 1000 ppm, the sample does
not have mould formation from day 1 to 5 whereas the concentration of 2000 ppm, the
sample also remained unspoiled from mould growth from day 1 to 7.
Next, both concentration of 1000 and 2000 ppm also have lower bubbles
formation, slime formation and the colour remained red. For 1000 ppm, the bubbles is
started to form in moderate amount at day 5 to 9 and slime formation was indicated which it
has slightly slimy at day 5 to 8. Meanwhile, for 2000 ppm, the bubbles is starting to form in
excessive amount at day 10 and slime formation was observed which it has moderate slimy
at day 10. Furthermore, the concentration of 0 ppm and 500 ppm have the highest bubbles
formation and slime formation compared to other concentration. While in graph 4 ,
concentration of 0, 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm shows that it has slightly off-odour from days 2
until 4.
Based on our result we can indicated that the sample with concentration of
2000 ppm has a long shelf life compared to others. This is because the concentration of
benzoic acid is higher. Benzoic acid is used to retard the spoilage that is caused by the
growth of mould, yeast and some bacteria. The process is starts with the absorption of
benzoic acid into the cell. The pH range for optimum microbial inhibition by benzoic acid is
2.5 to 4.0. The higher the concentration of benzoic acid, the longer the shelf life of food.

CONCLUSION

In a conclusion, we manage to study the shelf-life of chili slurry preserved at different

concentration of benzoic acid in the signs of spoilage by observing mould growth, slime
formation,off-odour and colour changes.

REFERENCES

(Bahruddin Saad 2005)

Bahruddin Saad, M. F. B., MUhammad Idiris Saleh, Kamarudzaman Ahmad (2005).

"Simultaneous determination of preservatives( banzoic acid, ascorbic acid,
methylparaben and propylparaben) in foodstuff using high performance liquid
chromatography." journal of chromatography A 1073(1-2): 393-397.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2004.10.105

(S.A.V Tfouni 2002)

S.A.V Tfouni, M. C. F. T. (2002). "Determination of benzoic acid and sorbic acid in

brazilian food." Food control 13(2): 117-123.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0956-7135(01)00084-6