4075-81-4/Calcium propionate

Food preservative

Calcium Propionate is an acid-type food preservative, with its inhibitory effected by the environmental pH .When PH5.0 minimum inhibitory concentration is 0.01%, PH6.5 is 0.5%. In the acidic medium ,it has a strong inhibitory effect on the various types of fungi, aerobic bacillus or gram-negative bacilli . It has a specific effect on preventing the production of Aflatoxin streptozotocin, but has little effect on the yeast. In the food industry, it is mainly used in vinegar, soy sauce, bread, cakes and soy products,whose maximum usage (use propionic acid to count, the same below)is 2.5g/kg; while the largest usage in the wet dough products is 0.25g/kg . Also ,it can be used for feed antifungal agent. It is used for breads, pastries and cheese preservatives and feed fungicide. Calcium Propionate as a food preservative, calcium propionate is mainly used for bread, because sodium propionate keeps pH of bread rising, delays the fermentation of the dough; sodium propionate is more widely used for cake, because the pastry gets bulky by using leavening agent, there is no problem about yeast development caused by tincrease in the pH . As a feed preservative, sodium propionate is better than calcium propionate. But Calcium Propionate is more stable than sodium propionate. In food industry , except uses for bread, pastries, cheese, Calcium Propionate can also be used for preventing soy sauce from getting moldy which inhibits the refermentation . In medicine, Calcium Propionate can be made into powders, solutions and ointments to treat skin disease caused by parasitic fungi. Ointment (liquid) contains 12.3% sodium propionate, while a powder contains15% Calcium Propionate.

Preparation

Calcium propionate is produced by reacting calcium hydroxide with propionic acid.

Mechanism of Action

Calcium propionate suppresses mold and bacteria growth on bread and cakes, but does not inhibit yeast. However, its addition to bread does not interfere with the fermentation of yeast. Calcium ion affects the chemical leaving action, therefore is not usually utilized in cake. Since it can enrich bread and rolls, it is normally used in their production.

Regulatory Amount

FAO/WHO (1984): Processed cheese 3000mg/kg (alone or in combination with propionic acid, sorbic acid and its salts ). Japan (use propionic acid to count): 2.5g/kg ( the product 3.15g).It is mainly used for bread and pastry. 1.0g calcium salt (monohydrate) equals 0.790g propanoic acid ). The excess of amount will prevent the growth of yeast in the bread, which damages the flavor. It can be used to prevent growth of Aspergillus niger (Asp.Niger), aerobic spore-forming bacteria (B.Subtilis) . USDA, 9CFR, §318.7 (2000): flour products, 0.32% (use wheat flour amount to count, alone or together with the amount of sodium propionate). USDA§381.147 (1994): The new pie dough 3% (use wheat flour amount to count). Calcium salt is generally used in bread while sodium salt is used in West Point .Alkalinity resulting from the use of sodium causes the delaying of the dough fermentation but use of calcium can strengthen the role of calcium. If calcium salt is used in West Point, then it can react to the sodium bicarbonate in the leavening agent, producing insoluble calcium carbonate, which reduces the amount of CO2 generated,so sodium salt is mainly used .

Application

As a food additive, it is listed as E number 282 in the Codex Alimentarius. Calcium propanoate is used as a preservative in a wide variety of products, including but not limited to bread, other baked goods, processed meat, whey, and other dairy products. In agriculture, it is used, amongst other things, to prevent milk fever in cows and as a feed supplement Propanoates prevent microbes from producing the energy they need, like benzoates do. However, unlike benzoates, propanoates do not require an acidic environment. Calcium propanoate is used in bakery products as a mold inhibitor, typically at 0.1- 0.4 % (though animal feed may contain up to 1 % ) . When propanoic acid is infused directly into rodents' brains, it produces reversible behavior changes (e.g. hyperactivity, dystonia, social impairment, perseveration ) and brain changes (e.g. innate neuroinflammation, glutathione depletion) that may be used as a model of human autism in rats. According to the Pesticide Action Network North America, calcium propionate is slightly toxic . This rating is not uncommon for food products; vitamin C is also rated by the same standards as being slightly toxic . Calcium propanoate can be used as a fungicide on fruit.

General Description

Calcium propionate is generally used as a food preservative in bread. It has also been reported to reduce milk fever in dairy cows. Calcium propionate is the most effective below pH 5.5. Below this pH, the active component, propionic acid, is undissociated and becomes active. The dough pH needs to be below 5.5 and well controlled to effectively control mold.

Flammability and Explosibility

Nonflammable

Purification Methods

Crystallise this antifungal salt from water (2mL/g) by partial evaporation in a desiccator. [Beilstein 2 H 238, 2 II 218, 2 III 516.]