Three compounds found in iced tea are: Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, and Phosphoric Acid. Each compound is unique in its own way from their chemical formulas to their purpose for being in this particular beverage i was drinking. Even though most of these compounds are food preservatives.
Sodium Benzoate is a food preseravtive found in salad dressings, carbonated drinks, and some medicines.Sodium salt of Benzoic acid exists when dissloved in water, in this case this salt compound does exist in the iced tea that I was drinking. The chemical formula for Sodium Benzoate is NaC6H5CO2.
Potassium Sorbate is also a food preservative found in cheeses and wines to create yeasts and molds. It is also found in personal care products to help the development of micro organisms while in the shelf to be stable. Potassium Sorbate is Potassium salt of Sorbic Acid. C6H7KO2 is the chemical formula for Potassium Sorbate.
Phosphoric Acid can also be called Othrophosphoric Acid. This acid is a mineral acid which means it can join togehter by itself to make many other compounds. It is found in sodas to give the sodas the acid that is needed. You can also find it in dentist equipment as an etching solution. The chemical formula is H3PO4.
I have become much more conscious of preservatives in my food during the last few years. This is a difficult thing to do because they are in so much. Preservatives are convenient for the producer of such food, because they give it a longer shelf life. However, the chemicals they contain are not so good for the human body. This makes me think of the principles of green chemistry that we talked about, particularly the one that involves not using unnecessary ingredients.
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