ASSAY

Food preservation is an important aspect of extending shelf life and ensuring food safety. Calcium propionate is a widely used preservative that inhibits mold growth and extends the shelf life of baked products such as biscuits. Concerns have been raised about the potential health implications of the intake of excessive amounts of calcium propionate including its neurological as well as metabolic effects. This study focuses on the colorimetric assay of calcium propionate in commercially produced biscuits to determine its concentration and evaluate compliance with permissible food additive limits. In this analysis, a colorimetric method was employed, based on the reaction of propionate anions with ferric cations to produce a reddish-brown complex. A UV–visible spectrophotometer was used to measure the absorbance of the resultant solution at a wavelength of 600nm and the concentration was determined from a standard calibration curve.