Potassium sorbate, also known as potassium 2,4-hexadienoic acid, is the potassium salt of sorbic acid. The molecular formula is c6h7o2k. It is white to light yellow flake crystal, crystal particle or crystal powder. It has no odor or slight odor. It is easy to absorb moisture, oxidize and decompose and change color after long-term exposure to the air.
Potassium sorbate is often used as a preservative. It destroys many enzyme systems by combining with the sulfhydryl group of microbial enzyme system. Its toxicity is much lower than that of other preservatives. At present, it is widely used. Potassium sorbate can give full play to its anti-corrosion effect in acidic medium and has little anti-corrosion effect under neutral conditions.

Potassium sorbate is used as a legal feed additive in animal feed. Potassium sorbate can inhibit the growth of mold in feed, especially the formation of aflatoxin. Therefore, the addition of potassium sorbate can effectively avoid the corruption and deterioration of feed, and can still resist the growth of microorganisms in animal intestines. In addition, the neutral taste of potassium sorbate is suitable for use in feed because animals are more sensitive to food taste changes than humans. In addition, as an unsaturated fatty acid, potassium sorbate can be easily digested as a feed component and has no adverse effects on animals. Feed is prone to corruption in the process of storage, transportation and sales. Therefore, the application market of potassium sorbate in feed industry is huge.