RAMANLAL SHORAWAL PUBLIC SCHOOL

(AFFLIATED TO C.B.S.E)
SESSION : 2019-2020
CHEMISTRY- INVESTIGATORY PROJECT
ON
Study of effect of Potassium bisulphite
as a food preservative

Submitted to Submitted by
Mrs.VEENTA
Chemistry Teacher,
 CLASS 12, RSPS
SUNNY SINGH
Class-12, Section-C
“Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project work titled

“Study of effect of Potassium bisulphite as a food
preservative” submitted by Sunny singh (class XIIth -
PCM group) in partial fulfilment of the credit for the
chemistry project evaluation from “JAWAHAR
HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, NEYVELI” , is the
bonafide work of the student done under the
guidance and supervision of Mrs.VEENTA, Chemistry
Teacher,RSPS during session 2014-2015, as a project
report.
NAME: SUBJECT:
REGISTRATION NO. : CLASS:
DATE: PLACE:

INTERNAL EXAMINER 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.VEENTA, 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.R.K Chaudhary and Mr.PRABHASH 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.

PRANJAL AGRAWAL
Sunny Singh

DECLARATION
We hereby declare that the project work entitled

“Study of effect of Potassium bisulphite as a food

preservative” submitted to the “RAMANLAL

SHORAWALA PUBLIC SCHOOL,MATHURA” is a

record of original work done by us, except for

quotations and summaries which have been duly

acknowledged, under the guidance of "Mrs.D.

Sangeetha, Chemistry Teacher, RSPS ". The

project has not been accepted for any credits

based on investigatory projects previously.

PRANJAL AGRAWAL

Sunny Singh

INDEX
PAGE
SL.NO. TOPIC NO.
1 OBJECTIVE 1
2 INTRODUCTION 2
3 AIM 4
4 APPARATUS REQUIRED 5
5 MATERIALS & CHEMICALS 6
6 THEORY 7
7 PROCEDURE 8
 EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION OF
8 SUGAR 9
EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION OF
9 KHSO3 10
10 EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE 11
11 EFFECT OF TIME 12
RESULTS,CONCLUSIONS &
12 SUGGESTIONS 13
13 BIBLIOGRAPHY 14
14 NOTES 14

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

• Benzoic acid(or sodium benzoate)

• Sulphur dioxide(or potassium bisulphite)

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.
• At different temperatures.
• At different concentrations and
• For different intervals of time.
APPARATUS
MATERIALS AND
CHEMICALS
 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:
• Take fresh fruits, wash them
thoroughly with water and peel off
their outer cover.
• Grind it to a paste in the mortar
with a pestle.
• Mix with sugar and colouring matter.
• The material so obtained is fruit
jam. It may be used to study
the effect of concentration of
sugar and KHSO3, temperature and
time.
(A)Effect of concentration of Sugar: -
• 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 Observations (Days)

No. jam sugar KHSO3 1 2 3 4 5
taken
added
I 100 gms 5.00 gms 0.5gm NO NO NO Few Few
Change Change Change Change More
Change

II 100 gms 10.00 gms 0.5 gm NO NO Few Some Few

Change Change Change Change more
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 :–

• 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, II and III respectively.

• Mix the contents thoroughly with a glass rod.

• Keep all the bottles at room temperature for

about 10 days and observe the changes everyday.

RECORD:

Bottle Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of Observations (Days)

 No. jam sugar KHSO3 1 2 3 4 5
taken
added
I 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

Result: The increase in concentration of KHSO3

increase more time of preservation

(C)Effect of temperature: –
• 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 0˚C,
bottle No. II at room temperature (25˚C) and
bottle No. III in a thermostat at 50˚C. Observe
the changes taking place in the jam for 10 days.
RECORD:
Bottle Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of Observations (Days)
No. jam sugar KHSO3
taken 1 2 3 4 5
added
I 100 10.00 2.0gm No No No No No
gms gms change change change change change
II 100 10.00 2.0 gm No No No No Slight
gms gms change change change change change
III 100 10.00 2.0 gm No No Slight Some Some
gms gms change change change change more
change

Result: The increase in temperature causes

faster fermentation of jam.

(D)Effect of time: –
• Take three bottles and label them as I, II and
III.
• 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)
Bottle No. 7 14 21
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 BOOKS-
PART 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