Food Additives Citric Acid The Multi-Purpose Solution for Industry Food and Cosmetics

Citric acid (CA), with the molecular formula C ₆ H ₈ O ₇, is an important organic weak acid. It is a colorless crystal, odorless, easily soluble in water, and has an acidic 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.

food industry
Citric acid is the largest organic acid produced by biochemical methods in the world. Citric acid and its salts are one of the pillar products in the fermentation industry, mainly used in the food industry, such as acidifiers, solubilizers, buffers, antioxidants, deodorizers, flavor enhancers, gelling agents, toners, etc.
In terms of food additives, they are mainly used for carbonated drinks, fruit juice drinks, lactic acid drinks and other refreshing beverages and pickled products, and their demand varies with seasonal climate changes. Citric acid accounts for about 2/3 of the total consumption of acidifiers. Adding citric acid to canned fruits can maintain or improve their flavor, increase the acidity of certain fruits with lower acidity when stored in cans (lower pH value), weaken the heat resistance of microorganisms and inhibit their growth, and prevent bacterial swelling and breakage that often occur in canned fruits with lower acidity. Adding citric acid as an acidifier to candy is easy to coordinate with fruit flavors. The use of citric acid in gel food, jam and jelly can effectively reduce the negative charge of pectin, so that the hydrogen bond between pectin molecules can bind to gel. When processing canned vegetables, some vegetables undergo alkaline reactions. Using citric acid as a pH adjuster can not only provide seasoning but also maintain their quality. The chelating and pH regulating properties of citric acid enable it to enhance the antioxidant properties, inhibit enzyme activity, and extend food shelf life in the processing of frozen foods .
Metal cleaning
Citric acid is an organic acid produced through microbial fermentation and is widely used in detergent production. Its specificity and chelating effect play a positive role. Citric acid has excellent performance in practical use, mainly in terms of safety. The raw materials used to prepare citric acid are all from grains, which are safe food grade microorganisms. The use of citric acid does not have an impact on the environment, and it is relatively easy to degrade under the action of microorganisms and heat. Its own chelating ability is also relatively strong, mainly due to the strong chelating ability of citrate salts on manganese ions and iron ions, and the use effect is also quite outstanding. The corrosion inhibition performance of citric acid in detergents is also prominent. Acid washing, as an important part of chemical cleaning, has relatively weak acidity compared to inorganic acids, so its corrosiveness to equipment is relatively small. The safety and reliability of citric acid cleaning are relatively strong, and the waste liquid is also easy to handle, which will not cause harm to the human body.