Topic summary
Sodium Phosphates
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Sodium phosphate.
Uses
Sodium phosphates have many applications in food and for water treatment. Sodium phosphates are often used as water-retaining agents for frozen food, thickening agents for processed food, and leavening agents for baked goods. It is also a source of the phosphate ion (an emulsifying agent) for processed cheese, where it chelates calcium, thereby allowing the casein in cheese to remain suspended and preventing separation during heating. They are also used to control pH of processed foods.