application
1) Food industry. Potassium sorbate, as the least toxic food preservative, is widely used in the food and feed processing industries, as well as in industries such as cosmetics, cigarettes, resins, spices, and rubber. Among them, it is most widely used in food preservation and feed [2-5].
2) Feed industry. The United States and the European Union use potassium sorbate as a legal feed additive in animal feed. Potassium sorbate can inhibit the growth of fungi in feed, especially the formation of aflatoxin, which has a very significant effect. Therefore, adding potassium sorbate can effectively prevent feed spoilage and can still resist microbial growth in animal intestines. In addition, the neutral taste of potassium sorbate is suitable for use in feed because animals are more sensitive to changes in food taste than humans. In addition, as an unsaturated fatty acid, potassium sorbate can be considered as a feed ingredient and is easily digestible without any adverse effects on animals. Feed is prone to spoilage and spoilage during storage, transportation, and sales, so potassium sorbate has a huge market for application in the feed industry.
3) Food containers and packaging materials
In 2009, China issued and implemented the GB 9685-2008 health standard, which clearly stipulated the allowable amount of potassium sorbate to be added to food containers and packaging materials, as well as the residual limit of potassium sorbate. In plastic production, this substance can be used in moderation according to production needs, and in rubber, the usage amount is 0.1%. Among the addition methods, potassium sorbate can be directly added, dipped, sprayed or dry powder spray when used. At the same time, there are many flexible ways to deal with packaging materials. In terms of development trend, because potassium sorbate has the same characteristics as natural products, its application scope and usage will gradually expand.
4) Biological research
By adding different concentrations of potassium sorbate to the culture medium instead of high-pressure sterilization, the antibacterial effect of potassium sorbate in open tissue culture of Taxus chinensis was studied. Potassium sorbate can be used as a preliminary antibacterial agent in open tissue culture of Taxus chinensis [6-7].