Question

Is citric acid a preservative?

Answer 1

A citric acid is a naturally occurring organic acid. It has a molecular formula of ${C_6}{H_8}{O_7}$ . Citric acid is a white solid and is a weak organic acid. It has a molar mass of $192.124{\text{ gmol}}{{\text{e}}^{ - 1}}$ . It can be dissolved in water, alcohol, acetone etc. easily.

Complete answer:
As we know that citric acid is a naturally occurring organic acid present in a variety of citrus foods like lemon, orange and limes. For these foods itself it works as a preservative agent by resisting the effects of the harmful microbes.
So, yes citric acid can act as a preservative. It is added to a variety of processed foods and drinks such as ice-cream, sorbet, soda, jarred and canned foods. Citric acid acts as a preservative agent for these foods because of its very high pH and acidity.
High ph. and acidity is not a favourable condition for some bacteria and other microbes to grow and hence, the food materials are preserved well with the citric acid.
Citric acid is added to many canned products to avoid or prevent the disease botulism.
Citric acid can also act as an emulsifying agent and a soul flavouring agent.
So, on the basis of our above discussion we can easily say that, yes Citric acid is a preservative.

Note:
To make citric acid acts as a preservative- just boil two cups of water and then add $0.05 - 0.1\%$ citric acid. Stir it to mix completely until it dissolves. Then you just have to wait for it to cool down and then after cooling you can use it as a preservative for cosmetic purposes.