Sorbic acid has a very faint, slightly sour and fatty-waxy odor with mild acidic character. It's not really a perfumery aroma material — it's used as a preservative — and in isolation reads as a weak, slightly pungent acid with a hint of sweetness.AI · claude-opus-4-7
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Perfume and Flavor Chemicals, page 1263.
White, needle-like crystals or crystalline powder.
0.2% soluble in water, 3.5% in boiling water, 5.5% in propylene glycol, 13% in alcohol. Poorly soluble in glycerin and oils.
Pure sorbic acid is practically odorless, but commercial grade material may have a slight, peculiar odor, varying according to the method of synthesis used.
Mild, acidulous taste in aqueous solution.
This acid is widely used as a fungistat (antimycotic) in food products and beverages, candy, etc. Its calcium salt is commonly used for impregnating wrappers and cartons containing food which may easily spoil by oxidation (cereals, potato chips, etc.). The acid is the only preservative permitted in the U.S.A. for treatment of natural cheese. It is extensively used in pickles, baked goods, powder cake-mixes, oleomargarine, bread, soft drinks, etc.
1) by polymerization of acetaldehyde. The trimer is sorbic aldehyde, which can be oxidized to the acid. 2) from malonic acid and crotonaldehyde in pyridine solution. 3) from ketene plus crotonaldehyde with boron trifluoride.