Question

Salts and sugars work to preserve foods by creating A) lower osmotic pressure.
B) hypotonic environment.
C) lower pH.
D) hypertonic environment.
E) depletion of nutrients.

Answer 1

Answer:

D) hypertonic environment

Explanation:

A hypertonic environment consists of a solution in which amount of solute outside the cell is more than the amount inside the cell. When the concentration of solutes is greater on the outside of a cell, water would move from inside the cell to outside of the cell, where the concentration is lower, hence causing shrinking of the cell.

Salt and sugar create a hypertonic environment in foods, thereby making the cells of food spoilage organisms to shrink and unable to thrive in the environment.