Answer:
Preservatives are the chemical substances which are added to the products like pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, foods and many other products to prevent the disintegration or rotting mainly caused by the growth of microbes or due to undesirable chemical changes.Preservations are of 2 types i.e. chemical & physical. Chemical preservation means addition of chemical compounds to the products. Physical preservation means process such as refrigeration & drying. Preservatives aims at decreasing the risk of foodborne infections, reduce microbial spoilage & to improve nutritional quality. Some physical methods used for food preservation include dehydration, freeze drying, refrigeration & UV-C radiation. Chemical And physical preservation are sometimes used in the combination.
The advantages of using the food preservatives are:
Main properties of ideal preservatives :