Abstract
The minimum inhibitory concentration of sorbic acid, a food preservative, was determined for Bacillus subtilis, B. cereus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. The inhibition was due to undissociated and dissociated acid; the effect of each was calculated in accordance with a proposed mathematical model. Although the inhibitory action of undissociated acid was 10-600 times greater than that of dissociated acid, the later caused > 50% of the growth inhibition at pH levels > 6 for most of the organisms tested.

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