What is Calcium propionate?Uses,Mechanism of Action,Safety Studies

Calcium propionate (also known as E282) is the calcium salt of propanoic acid. It is used as a food preservative and is commonly found in commercial bread and other baked goods. However, it can also be found in processed meat, whey, and other dairy products. It meets the specifications of the Food Chemicals Codex and is generally recognized as safe (GRAS). As a bread preservative, it helps keep baked goods fresher longer by preventing mold and bacterial growth. While you might find good mold in certain cheeses, moldy bread is never a good thing.

Uses

Calcium propionate is used as a preservative in bread and other baked goods, and it may be combined with propionic acid and sodium propionate.1 Calcium propionate helps keep baked goods fresh by preventing mold and bacterial growth that would otherwise cause them to go bad. Calcium propionate also occurs naturally in butter and some types of cheese.

Calcium propionate is a food additive present in many foods, especially baked goods.

Mechanism of Action

Calcium propionate suppresses mold and bacteria growth on bread and cakes, but does not inhibit yeast. However, its addition to bread does not interfere with the fermentation of yeast. Calcium ion affects the chemical leaving action, therefore is not usually utilized in cake. Since it can enrich bread and rolls, it is normally used in their production.

Safety Studies

Calcium propionate has been studied for potential toxicity and for any possibility that it might cause cancer.3 For the most part, the laboratory findings were negative.

The accumulation of research evidence indicates that calcium propionate is non-toxic and safe to use in the amounts currently used by food manufacturers.

The research was enough for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Select Committee on Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) Substances to conclude in 1979:

There is no evidence in the available information on propionic acid, calcium propionate, and sodium propionate that demonstrates or suggests reasonable grounds to suspect a hazard to the public when they are used at levels that are now current or that might reasonably be expected in the future.