Q.Choose the correct option.
The chemical used to slow down the browning action of cut fruit is
a. SO3 b. SO2 c. H2SO4 d. Na2CO3

Food quality is judged by flavour, smell, texture, colour and resistance to microbial spoilage, all of which change during storage mainly because of natural enzyme action, chemical reactions with the environment, and microbial growth. Enzymatic browning of a cut fruit or vegetable is the chapter's worked example of this: cutting damages plant cells and releases polyphenol compounds, which an enzyme then oxidises with atmospheric oxygen into quinones (polyphenol + 1/2 O2 --enzyme--> quinone + H2O); the quinones then polymerise into brown-coloured tannins. Because the reaction depends on both an active enzyme and available oxygen, browning can be slowed with a reducing agent such a …