![]() ![]() There are several strains of Aspergillus that, if inhaled, can cause severe sickness or death. You’ve likely heard of how dangerous black mold is. ![]() Industrial food ingenuity has made it so that citric acid can be created from Aspergillus niger, a common black mold. When life gives you lemons, ask for black mold instead Pfizer started to produce citric acid from molds in 1919. World War I interrupted this cycle and an American food chemist, James Currie, discovered a process for making citric acid from mold in 1917. Known from the eighth century, but first isolated in 1784 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele from lemon juice, industrial scale citric acid production began in the late nineteenth century -made from Italian lemons. Because of its effective preservative properties, citric acid can be found in most canned and jarred foods to prevent botulism. This weak acid has been used as an additive in processed foods for more than 100 years as a preservative, a sour flavoring, or an emulsifying agent. So, what’s the big deal? What is Citric Acid?Ĭitric acid is an organic acid that is a component of all aerobic living organisms -most abundantly, and not surprisingly, in citrus fruit. Of all the unpronounceable names you are likely to find on processed food ingredient lists, citric acid may seem the most reasonable, as it invokes the image of a real thing-citric acid deriving from, well, a citrus fruit. It’s a flavoring, a preservative and is used to preserve the texture of some foods. Here’s what you need to know about this pervasive ingredient.Īmong the peculiar names that you will find on ingredient lists at the grocery store is citric acid. Today’s citric acid is a whole different story. You may think it is a harmless derivative of lemons, and that used to be so. Citric acid is one of the most common food additives in use today. ![]()
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