The effects of chemical preservatives on the microbial population and shelf-life of chilli slurry

M. A. Nor Azni and Q. L. Yeoh

Abstract

The effects of sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, sodium lactate and calcium propionate on the shelf-life of chilli slurry stored at room temperature were investigated. The results indicated that the use of sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate with the addition of acetic acid was able to preserve the chilli slurry up to 10 weeks at room temperature, while sodium lactate and calcium propionate gave a storage life of 4 weeks and 2 days respectively. The changes in microbiological population during the storage period were also monitored for the samples treated with benzoate + acetic acid and sorbate + acetic acid. There were no marked changes in the total plate counts for both treatments

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