Chemical Properties
white powder(s) or monoclinic crystal(s); uses: mold-retardant additive for bread, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, antifungal agent [HAW93]
Application
As a food additive, it is listed as E number 282 in the Codex Alimentarius. Calcium propanoate is used as a preservative in a wide variety of products, including but not limited to bread, other baked goods, processed meat, whey, and other dairy products. In agriculture, it is used, amongst other things, to prevent milk fever in cows and as a feed supplement Propanoates prevent microbes from producing the energy they need, like benzoates do. However, unlike benzoates, propanoates do not require an acidic environment.
Calcium propanoate is used in bakery products as a mold inhibitor, typically at 0.1- 0.4 % (though animal feed may contain up to 1 % ) .
When propanoic acid is infused directly into rodents' brains, it produces reversible behavior changes (e.g. hyperactivity, dystonia, social impairment, perseveration ) and brain changes (e.g. innate neuroinflammation, glutathione depletion) that may be used as a model of human autism in rats.
According to the Pesticide Action Network North America, calcium propionate is slightly toxic . This rating is not uncommon for food products; vitamin C is also rated by the same standards as being slightly toxic . Calcium propanoate can be used as a fungicide on fruit.
Purification Methods
Crystallise this antifungal salt from water (2mL/g) by partial evaporation in a desiccator. [Beilstein 2 H 238, 2 II 218, 2 III 516.]
Safety
Calcium propionate is affirmed as GRAS for use as an antimicrobial under 21 C.F.R.184.122 1 with no limitation on the level of use other than current good manufacturing practice (gmp). There is no obvious self-limit on the level of use. In commercial practice the amount of calcium propionate used will be limited by cost and the possibility of imparting off-tastes or textures to food when gmp concentrations are exceeded.
Though Calcium Propionate E282 is regarded as safe supplement, there maybe some side effects: damage your stomach lining by exacerbating gastritis and inducing severe ulcers and cause irritability, restlessness, inattention and sleep disturbance.
