Question

A growing concern in agricultural and food chemistry is the presence of residues in food. We use many forms of organic chemicals in agriculture and food chemistry and there is growing concern as to how safe these materials are. Choose an organic chemical used in agricultural of food chemistry and report on the functional groups contained in your compound, the uses of the compound, and the safety of that compound.

Answer 1

BHT is one of the most famous synthetic additive in food chemistry. It is used as an antioxidant to increase the shelf life of the food ( Example potato chips, breakfast cerals like chacos etc.).

BHT stands for Butylated Hydroxy Toluene. The structure of BHT is given below.

Functional groups in BHT

BHT is also known as dibutyl hydroxy toluene.

It is a chemical derivative of Phenol.

It contains two tertiary butyl groups, one methyl group and one -OH group on benzene ring

Uses of BHT.

1. BHT is used primarily as antioxidant food additive.

2. BHT is also used as antioxidant in cosmetics, rubbers, pharmaceuticals.

3. BHT is also used in hydraulic fluids, turbine and gear oils etc, in petroleum industry.

Safety of BHT

BHT is recognised safe (GRAS) by US Food and Drug administration when used in permitted levels.

But the present researches proved that excess use of BHT cause increased cancer risk, asthma and behavioural issues in children.