FOOD CHEMISTRY

Lecture n. 03

Prof. Matteo Scampicchio

Free University of Bozen-Bolzano

1
 WHAT IS PH?
 The usual measure of acid level
in a food is pH.
 The pH scale is a measure of
how acidic or basic a solution
is.
 A pH value of 7 indicates
neutrality.
 Lower values than 7 indicate
acidity.
 Higher values than 7
indicate basicity.

2
 THE PH SCALE
 pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the concentration of
hydrogen ions:

For instance:
A lemon juice shows a pH equal to 2.4 u.pH. What is the concentration of
hydronium ions?

3
 FURTHER EXERCISES
 Calculate the pH of the following aqueous solutions:
(a) 0.10 M HClO4 (Perchloric acid)
(b) 0.05 M H2SO4 (Sulfuric acid)

(a) Perchloric acid is a very strong acid that dissociates completely:

pH = -log[0.1] = 1.0

(b) Sulfuric acid is a very strong acid that produces 2 moles of H+ per
mol of acid:
pH = -log[0.05 x 2] = 1.0

4
 WHERE DO THE PH SCALE COMES FROM?
 The pH scale comes from the dissociation of an acid :

 When strong acid like HCl or H2SO4 are dissolved in water, they
dissociate into :

 Thus, a 10 mM solution of HCl will give a final pH of:

5
 WHERE DO THE PH SCALE COMES FROM?
 However, most of the acids in foods are weak acid:

 When weak acids like citric acid or acetic acid are dissolved in
water solutions, they dissociate only partially.

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 DISSOCIATION CONSTANT
 Dissociated state (A-) and undissociated state (AH) coexist:

 According to the following dissociation equilibrium equation:

Where Ka is the acid dissociation constant.

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 DISSOCIATION CONSTANT
 This can be simplified by the use of logarithms:

This can be simplified as:

That gives:

8
 PH IS IMPORTANT FOR FOOD SAFETY

Microorganisms, including
yeasts, molds and bacteria
are sensitive to a food’s pH.
Very low or high pH values
will prevent microbial
growth… But not always! 9
 A PH VALUE TO REMEMBER
 An important value for food safety is pH of 4.6.
 Below pH 4.6, vegetative cells of Clostridium botulinum cannot
produce toxin. Thus, foods with pH below 4.6 are considered high-
acid foods and safe from botulism.
 Above pH 4.6, foods are low-acid and at risk for botulism. They
must be protected by severe preservation processes, such as
thermal canning
 Be careful: spores are dormant forms of microbes that are highly
resistant to extremes of temperature and other conditions.

10
 LOW ACID FOODS
 For low-acid foods (with pH > 4.6), spores must be killed by
heating.
 Temperatures of 120°C are commonly used and process times may
range from 20 min to several hours.
 Most vegetables, meat and poultry foods are low-acid food
category.

11
 PH IN DRESSING AND SAUCES
 Dressings sauces like ketchup (pH ~ 3.6) and mayo (pH ~ 4.0)
have low pHs to prevent spoilage.
 They consist of naturally occurring acid foods, such as:
 Tomatoes (pH ~ 4.0)
 Lemon juices (pH ~ 2.5)
 Vineger (pH ~ 2.5)
 Low pHs of these ingredients depend on one or more organic acids,
such as: citric, malic, or acetic acid. Most acidified foods including
dressings and sauces use vinegar (acetic acid) or lemon (citric acid)
to produce the desired acidity.

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EXAMPLES OF ACIDITY REGULATORS IN THE EU
E-NUMBER SUBSTANCE EXAMPLES
fish fingers, butter, margarine, processed
E 260 Acetic acid
cheese, curry powder, cooking oil.
E263 Calcium acetate packet desserts, pie fillings
cheese, milk, meat and poultry, salads,
E 270 Lactic acid
sauces and beverages
tinned fruit, vegetables and pulses, jams,
E 296 Malic acid
jelly, frozen vegetables
E 297 Fumaric acid bread, fruit drinks, poultry, wine, jams, jelly

E 330 Citric acid fruits and vegetables soft drinks

E 334 Tartaric acid bakery, candies, jams, juices and wine13

 PH IN WINE

 SO2 has both antioxidant

and antimicrobial
properties, making it an
extremely effective
preservative for wine.
 The amount of SO2 in the
molecular form determines
the effectiveness of SO2’s
anti-microbial activity.
 The higher the pH, the less
SO2 will be in the useful
free form and the less
effective is SO2.
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 PH IN DAIRY

The pH will drop if an acid is added to milk or if acid-producing bacteria are

allowed to grow in milk.
When pH drops close to the isoelectric points of the individual casein species,
casein micelles change, starting with growth of the micelles through
aggregation and ending with a more or less dense coagulum.
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PH IS FRUIT PROCESSING

16
 PH IN MEAT
 After slaughtering, pH of
high quality meat drops
from 7 to 5.5.

Animal exhausted before slaughter, have the muscle pH abnormally high

(6.0 to 7.0). This makes the meat appear Dark Firm and Dry. The pH fails to
decline since there is not enough glycogen present in the muscle at death
to form normal levels of lactic acid in the meat. This muscle is more
susceptible to bacterial spoilage than normal meat.
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 PH AS PROTEIN TENDERIZER
 Acids serve to soften, or "denature," foods that have lots of
proteins.
 LEMON COOKING. The lime juice's effect on the fish proteins gives
the dish an appealing mouth texture and an opaque appearance
that resembles cooking with heat.
 MARINADES. Tough cuts of meat often are soaked in marinades
made with vinegar, lemon juice, tomato juice or other types of acids
to tenderize them and add flavor.

18
 PH FOR TORTILLAS
 In Mexico, peoples would cook
maize or corn in alkaline ashes
from their cooking fires.
 The process is known as
nixtamalization
 Corn is soaked and cooked in an
alkaline solution, washed, and
then hulled.

This process remove up to 97–100% of aflatoxins from mycotoxin-

contaminated corn. Also, the process soften the outer hulls of corn kernels,
making them easier to digest.

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HOW TO MEASURE PH?

TEST STRIPS LITMUS PAPER

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HOW TO MEASURE PH?

21
HOW PH METER WORKS?

= measured potential
=constant
= gas constant
= temperature
= Faraday constant
= 1 elettrone
At 25°C, RT/nF = 0.059 V

22
23
 pH or pOH?
 How to calculate the pH of 0.10 M KOH?
 KOH is a very strong base. Thus, it is completely dissociated:

 Accordingly:

 Furthermore:

 For this reason:

And pH = 13

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 TOTAL ACIDITY
 Food acids are usually organic acids, with citric, malic, lactic, tartaric,
and acetic acids being the most common.
 However, also inorganic acids, such as phosphoric and carbonic (arising
from carbon dioxide in solution) acids often play an important and even
predominant role in food acidulation.
 The organic acids present in foods are important because:
 FLAVOR. Organic acid contribute the sensorial perception of tartness
 COLOR . Organic acid affects the color of anthocyanine
 ANTIMICROBIAL. The molecular form (undissociated) form may
prevent/retard the growth of microorganisms or inhibit the
germination of spores.
 CHELATION. Providing the proper environment for metal ion chelation,
an important phenomenon in the minimization of lipid oxidation.

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 SOURCE OF ORGANIC ACIDS
 Organic acids are present in foods because:
 NATURALLY.
 BY FEMRENTATION.
 ADDED AS INGREDIENT

Citric acid Tartaric acid Malic acid

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 DETERMINATION OF ORGANIC ACIDS
 The determination of the total organic
acids present in foods is used to:
 Determine the degree of maturity of
fruits and vegetables
 To determine the freshness of foods
 Acidity indicators reflect the quality of
food
 Determination of acid on the microbial
fermentation process

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 DETERMINATION OF
ORGANIC ACIDS
 The measurement of the total
organic acids in foods is
generally performed by acid-
base titration
 Titratable acidity is determined
by neutralizing the acid present
in a known quantity(weight or
volume) of food sample using a
standard base.
 The endpoint for titration is
usually either atarget pH or the
colorchangeof a pH-sensitive
dye, typically phenolphthalein.
28
COLORIMETRIC END-POINT OF A TITRATION

29
DETERMINATION OF TOTAL ACIDITY IN MILK
 Total Acidity in milk is expressed as percentage of lactic acid
 Normal values are 0.12 – 0.16% of lactic acid
 Total Acidity can increase because of:
 The acidity of fresh milk (Natural acidity) is due to:
 Phosphates
 Casein proteins
 Whey proteins
 Citrates and carbon dioxide
 Acidity can increase because of:
 Lactic acid produced by the action of bacteria on lactose in milk.

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 METHOD
 Mix the milk sample thoroughly by avoiding incorporation of air.
 Transfer 10 ml (10g) milk to conical flask or beaker
 Add equal quantity of distilled water
 Add 3-4 drops of phenolphthalein indicator and stir.
 Titrate the contents with 0.1 M NaOH solution
 Continue to add alkali dropwise during stirring untill the first
definite change to pink colour
 Note down the final burette reading.

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 CALCULATION
 To express the result in %lactic acid:

For instance:
After titration, you needed 1.8 mL of of NaOH 0.1 to reach the end point
of 10 mL of milk. Determine the total acidity:

32
 DETERMINATION OF TOTAL ACIDITY IN
FRUIT JUICES
 Total Acidity in fruit juices is expressed as percentage of:
 citric acid (generally accepted, mandatory for citrus fruits)
 malic acid (apples, peaches, apricots, pears, plums)
 tartaric acid (grapes)
 Normal values are 0.40 – 1.00% of citric acid

BE CAREFUL
 Citric acid is a three carboxylic organic acid
 Malic and tartaric acid are a di-carboxylic acids

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 METHOD
 Weight 10 g juice in beaker
 Add 25 ml of distilled water
 Add 2 drops of phenolphthalein as an indicator
 Titrate with 0.1M NaOH

34
 CALCULATION
 To express the result in %lactic acid:

For instance:
After titration, you needed 10 mL of of NaOH 0.1 to reach the end point
of 10 mL of milk. Determine the total acidity:

35
 DETERMINATION OF TOTAL ACIDITY IN
VINEGER
 The acidity of vinegars is derived by the oxidation of ethanol into
acetic acid by acetic bacteria.
 Normal values are 4 – 8% of acetic acid

METHOD
 Weight 1 g vinegar
 Add 10 ml of distilled water
 Add 2 drops of phenolphthalein as an indicator
 Titrate with 0.1M NaOH.

36
 CALCULATION
 To express the result in %acetic acid:

For instance:
After titration, you needed 8 mL of of NaOH 0.1 to reach the end point of
1 g of vinegar. Determine the total acidity:

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