Usages of citric acid

Molecular form C6H8O7. Citric acid (CA) is an important organic weak acid. It is a colorless crystal, odorless, soluble in water and acidic in solution. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle), which occurs in the metabolism of all aerobic organisms. Citric acid is widely used as an acidity regulator (GB2760-2014), flavoring agent and chelating agent.

Application of citric acid in the food industry:

1. In terms of food additives, it is mainly used in carbonated drinks, fruit juice drinks, lactic acid drinks and other cool drinks and pickled products, and its demand is changed by the change of seasonal climate. Citric acid accounts for about 2/3 of the total consumption of sour agents.

2. Adding citric acid to canned fruits can maintain or improve the flavor of fruits, increase the acidity of some fruits with low acidity when canning (reducing pH value), weaken the heat resistance of microorganisms and inhibit their growth, and prevent the bacterial swelling and destruction of canned fruits with low acidity.

3. Adding citric acid to candy as a sour agent is easy to coordinate with fruit flavor. The use of citric acid in gel food such as paste and jelly can effectively reduce the negative charge of pectin, so as to make the hydrogen bond between pectin molecules to gel.

4. When processing canned vegetables, some vegetables are alkaline, and citric acid is used as a pH adjustment agent, which can not only play a seasoning role, but also maintain its quality.

5. Citric acid has the characteristics of chelating and regulating pH value, so that it can increase the performance of antioxidant in the processing of frozen food, inhibit enzyme activity, and extend the shelf life of food.