Question

In the past, before we had refrigerators, meat was preserved by packing it in salt. Explain the effect of placing a cell in a solution, which contained high amounts of salt. Explain how this technique might prevent the growth of microorganisms on meat.

Answer 1

Table salt [NaCl] functions as a solute in this case. When high concentrations of it accumulates outside a membrane, osmotic pressure causes the water molecules to diffuse out of membranes that are in contact of the solution. This trend is mainly responsible for the dehydration of the meat as well as that the dehydration of the microbes that linger on that piece of meat.

By placing meat on a high saline state, microorganisms have a difficult time reproducing let alone surviving the harsh environment. As aforementioned, when placed under a hypertonic environment, dehydration incurs on the meat and the microorganisms around it have no other choice but to shrivel under extreme osmotic pressure.

Although refrigeration has long replaced this practice, this preservation technique is still widely used today as you can see, most preservatives we have are, in fact, salts.

Answer 2

thank you