Question

Why salts and edible oils are known as preservatives?
A. Because they can kill all microbes even the viruses
B. They check the growth of microbes
C. They are tasty
D. Both A and B

Answer 1

Hint: Food preservatives are the substances that are added to food that are able to inhibit or retard, the process of fermentation, acidification, or other decomposition of food and prevent the food from spoiling. Salt, sugar, vinegar, edible oil, sodium benzoate, etc. are the examples of food preservatives.

Complete answer:
A type of substance or a chemical agent that is mixed with the products such as food products, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs, paints, biological samples are known as preservatives. Many other products for the prevention of that product from decomposition due to microbial growth or undesirable chemical changes are used as preservatives of food.
Preservative food additives decrease microbial spoilage. These preservatives help to keep the food in fresh attributes and nutritional quality. UV-C radiation, dehydration, freeze-drying, and refrigeration are some physical techniques used for the preservation of food. Sometimes both modes of preservation i.e. chemical preservation and physical preservation are applied simultaneously.
Some common food preservatives are salt, sugar, edible oil, vinegar, etc. Salts and edible oils are generally used as a preservative to check the growth of microorganisms.
Generally, salt is added to pickles as a preservative to prevent the attack of microbes. Common salt is also used in the preservation of meat and fish for eggs. Meat and fish are kept after applying dry salt in it with edible oil to check the growth of bacteria. Salt is also applied to various acidic fruits like amla, raw mangoes, tamarind, etc. to preserve.
The use of edible oil restrains the spoilage of pickles as bacteria are not able to survive in such an environment. Vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat are commonly preserved by using edible oil.

Therefore, the correct option is option B.

Additional information:
Generally, there are two modes of preservation that are implemented and these are chemical preservation and physical preservation. Chemical preservation takes place by adding chemical compounds to the product while in case of physical preservation takes place through the processes such as refrigeration or drying and adding natural preservatives.

Note: Preservation of food is such a process where food, beverages, drugs, and many other products are kept in such a condition where microbes and bacteria are not able to spoil that product and the additives are used for the preservation is called preservatives. There are so many preservatives used. Common salt and edible oil are the two very common preservatives in our household. These are used to preserve vegetables, meat, fish, pickles, etc as they can check the growth of microbes.