JPS584542B2 - Sorbin Sanno Kendaku Ekimoshiku Hapaestono Seizouhou - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a novel method for producing a suspension or paste of sorbic acid, and more specifically, a suspension or paste consisting of fine particles of sorbic acid produced by a special production method and water. Concerning the manufacturing method.

Sorbic acid is used in a wide variety of foods as a food additive, along with potassium sorbate, and is used in the food processing industry because its toxicity is extremely low and it rarely imparts off-flavors, odor, or cloudiness to foods. It has been awarded in the.

The current usage form of sorbic acid is crystalline powder, and if the target food is powder, granules, liquid, etc., there is relatively little difficulty in mixing sorbic acid powder, but the target food is When sorbic acid is a solid substance, paste product, etc., it is difficult to uniformly apply or disperse it, and if you try to use fine powder of sorbic acid to improve dispersion, it may easily scatter during handling or may be difficult to store. This causes problems such as poor stability.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 46-34409 has proposed a method for producing a dispersion of sorbic acid for use in such a purpose.

In this method, a solution of an alkali metal sorbic acid salt containing a surfactant is added to an aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid in an amount slightly less than the equivalent amount to produce a dispersion of sorbic acid, but the dispersion is stable. However, since the dispersion contains a surfactant and a large amount of alkali salts of hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid, it may have a subtle effect on the taste, color, transparency, etc. of foods using the dispersion. There is a risk of giving.

In addition, if sorbic acid is not used as the raw material but instead sorbic acid alkali salt is used as the raw material, the process of sorbic acid → sorbate → sorbic acid is wasted, and instead of sorbic acid alkali salt, sorbic acid + alkali + water is used. When using sorbate, there is a strong tendency for the aqueous solution of alkali sorbate to be colored.

It is also known that if sorbic acid is pulverized and mixed and stirred with an aqueous surfactant solution, a suspension of about 50% sorbic acid can be obtained.

(Special Publication No. 47-37547).

The suspension produced by this method is superior to the sorbic acid dispersion produced by the method of Japanese Patent Publication No. 46i-344.09 in that it does not contain hydrochloric acid or sulfate; however, in order to maintain the dispersed state, a considerable amount of A mixture of surfactants is used, and when used, it must be diluted at least twice with water.

The object of the present invention is to provide a sorbic acid suspension or a sorbic acid paste that does not have any of the disadvantages of the known methods.

More specifically, the present invention provides a highly concentrated sorbic acid suspension or sorbic acid paste that does not contain any components other than water and sorbic acid, and also provides a method for easily preparing such a suspension or paste. The purpose is to provide a method for manufacturing by a method.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a dispersion suspension or paste-like dispersion suspension with good dispersion stability by adding an appropriate amount of a preferred surfactant to the suspension or paste. shall be.

The present inventors have arrived at the present invention as a result of painstaking research into suitable pulverization of sorbic acid in order to achieve the above object.

What was revealed in the above research process is that crystalline or amorphous powder of sorbic acid can be pulverized to a particle size suitable for suspension or emulsion by mechanical crushing using either dry or wet methods. This means that it is difficult to grind to a uniform particle size (therefore, the grinding process tends to become more complicated or precise),
Items that are more finely divided than necessary (e.g. particle size 0.2μ)
The following) are unstable in quality and easily deteriorate and become discolored, making it difficult to obtain fine powder with a suitable and uniform particle size, which is the object of the present invention, by an industrially simple method.

Therefore, the present inventors abandoned the mechanical pulverization method and conducted detailed studies on a method of precipitation from a solution.

However, the method of adding acid from an aqueous solution of alkali sorbic acid (Japanese Patent Publication No. 46-34409) has the disadvantage that impurities (hydrochloride, sulfuric acid) remain, and the method of precipitating from an organic solvent solution has the disadvantage that impurities (hydrochloride, sulfuric acid) remain. In addition to the need to recover the solvent, it is difficult to remove a small amount of the solvent that is attached to the obtained fine powder of sorbic acid.

Therefore, the present inventors used water or a mixture of water and a low-boiling water-soluble organic solvent as the solvent used in the present invention, and used sorbic acid in hot water (or water and a water-soluble organic solvent) as a method for fine powder precipitation. The present invention was achieved by successfully obtaining a fine powder of sorbic acid having a particle size necessary to achieve the object of the present invention by jetting a solution of a mixture of solvents from a nozzle.

That is, the present invention involves jetting a hot aqueous solution of sorbic acid or a mixture of water of sorbic acid and a water-soluble low-boiling organic solvent from a nozzle, rapidly cooling it, and removing excess water or water at the same time or after the cooling. This is a method for producing a suspension or paste consisting of precipitable sorbic acid fine particles and water, which is characterized by separating sorbic acid and organic dysentery.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be explained in detail.

First, the irvic acid used in the present invention is a crystalline or amorphous powder of sorbic acid produced by a known method, or a granular or agglomerated product thereof, and the degree of purification thereof depends on the concerns of the present invention. It is sufficient that the suspension or paste can be used as a food additive without any problem.

Therefore, it also includes cases where a very small amount of stabilizer (antioxidant) or a small amount of potassium sorbate is contained.

However, for the purpose of the present invention (particularly the first aspect of the present invention), suspensions of sorbic acid or suspensions containing a considerable amount of surfactants, thickening agents, etc., are necessarily included in the method of the present invention. This is not preferable because it will be included in the sorbic acid paste (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the sorbic acid suspension of the present invention).

Further, the water used in the present invention is preferably pure water or distilled water that does not contain impurities, but it may also have a small amount of carbon dioxide gas, air, etc. dissolved therein.

Furthermore, the water-soluble low-boiling organic solvent used in the present invention is a solvent having a boiling point of 100° C. or lower, preferably 80° C. or lower, and that can be dissolved in hot water by 5% or more, preferably 10% or more, and which is soluble in water,
It refers to a substance that is stable against air, a temperature of 200°C or less, normal indoor light, or a combination thereof, preferably forms an azeotrope with water, and is easily distilled by normal distillation. Specifically, examples thereof include alkone methyl acetate such as methanol and ethanol, organic acid esters such as ethyl acetate, lower aliphatic ketones such as acetone, and cyclic compounds such as benzene and cyclohexane.

The combined use of an organic solvent increases the concentration of sorbic acid in the hot aqueous solution of sorbic acid used in the present invention, and facilitates the separation of excess water after it is ejected from the nozzle described below. preferable.

However, on the other hand, it is necessary to recover the solvent, and it is undesirable for the solvent to remain in the product of the present invention, ie, the suspension or paste of sorbic acid, even in a small amount. Since the one-organic solvent-one-sorbic acid mixed system must be sufficiently removed by, for example, vacuum distillation, the process tends to become complicated, which is undesirable.

When using only water as the solvent used in the present invention, the above problem does not occur, but unless the temperature of the hot water is sufficiently high (for example, 90°C), there is a risk that a solution of sorbic acid with an appropriate concentration cannot be obtained. There is.

The hot aqueous solution of sorbic acid or the hot solution of a mixture of water and a low-boiling organic solvent used in the present invention is produced as follows.

That is, a part or all of the water to be used is placed in a dissolver capable of normal pressure or pressurization, and the sorbic acid is added all at once or gradually while stirring, and heated to completely dissolve the sorbic acid. Dissolve.

When a water-organic solvent system is used as the solvent, the azeotropic temperature is easily reached by heating, so it is desirable to carry out the above-mentioned dissolution under pressure.

The usage ratio of the water or water and organic solvent to sorbic acid is regulated by (1) the dissolving power of the solvent for sorbic acid during heating, and (2) the rate of cooling precipitation during jetting from the nozzle in the subsequent step.

That is, for example, it is difficult to maintain a hot aqueous solution of sorbic acid at a concentration of 5% or more at temperatures below 100°C (Note: This does not apply to solutions in which a considerable amount of potassium sorbate is also used, but this is outside the scope of the present invention. ), or, for example, 10% below 120°C.
It is difficult to do more than that.

(Note: Generally, it is difficult to dissolve sorbic acid to the limit of solubility, and it is not necessary.) Also, by spouting a hot aqueous solution of sorbic acid from a nozzle, the spouted product can be instantly (at least within a few seconds) The temperature drops by several tens of degrees Celsius or more, but at this time, if the temperature of the sorbic acid in the solution is too high,
The particle size of undruvic acid in the target suspension becomes minute, resulting in good dispersibility but poor sedimentation, which makes it difficult to manufacture suspensions or pastes (difficult to concentrate) as described below, and also makes it difficult to store the product. On the other hand, if the concentration of sorbic acid in the solution is too low, the particle size of sorbic acid in the target suspension will become coarse, resulting in poor dispersibility. Even when an active agent is added, no emulsion occurs, and the concentrated suspension lacks spreadability and fluidity as a paste.

Therefore, the ratio of the mixture of sorbic acid and water or water and organic solvent used is 1:200 to 1:5 by weight, preferably 1:50 to 1:10 (hereinafter referred to as weight ratio).

In addition, the ratio of the organic solvent in the mixture of water and organic solvent is such that: (1) the presence of the organic solvent significantly increases the solubility of sorbic acid depending on the type; Since the liquid temperature of the ejected material decreases more rapidly due to evaporation than when water is used alone, it is not preferable to use a large amount, and the amount is 1 to 30 parts, preferably 2 to 15 parts, per 100 parts of water by weight. .

The temperature of the hot aqueous solution of sorbic acid or the hot solution of water of sorbic acid and a water-soluble low-boiling organic solvent mixture (hereinafter referred to as a hot aqueous solution of sorbic acid, etc.) produced as described above is 80°C or higher, preferably 90°C or higher, and 120°C or higher. ℃ or lower and higher than 120° C., such as 150° C., there is no particular advantage other than increasing the pressure when the solution is ejected from the nozzle.

The spouting and rapid cooling of the hot aqueous solution of sorbic acid of the present invention is carried out as described below.

The nozzle used first may be a known spray nozzle that sprays or disperses a low-viscosity liquid into fine droplets, or a machine or device having an equivalent function. Examples include a device that drops the liquid to be treated on a rotating disk and scatters it.

While the ejected material is scattered over a wide area, part of the water or the azeotropic mixture of water and organic solvent evaporates from the droplets of the ejected material, and the temperature of the droplets rapidly decreases.

In order to facilitate such vaporization, the ejecta receiver (ejector device) used in the present invention has a considerable space, and the ejecta is rapidly taken out of the receiver. Condensed with
On the other hand, the temperature inside the receiver is 50°C or lower or 30°C or lower (for example, room temperature), and the pressure inside the receiver is preferably normal pressure or lower, preferably around the saturated vapor pressure of water (100 mmH) at the temperature inside the receiver.
g or less).

As mentioned above, the hot aqueous solution of sorbic acid etc. ejected into the ejecta receiver used in the present invention becomes fine droplets, and
During this time, some of the water or water and organic solvent constituting the droplets evaporate, and while the temperature rapidly decreases (e.g. from 90°C to 40°C), the sorbic acid dissolved in the droplets rapidly evaporates. Fine particles of sorbic acid are precipitated and constitute the suspension of the present invention.

The average particle size is 0.5 μ to 1 μ, which is extremely small for a dispersed particle, but is sufficiently larger than a general emulsion particle.

Moreover, this is sufficiently small when compared with the fine particles (approximately 2 μm or less) of sorbic acid precipitated by adding acid to a potassium sorbate solution according to the invention of Japanese Patent Publication No. 46-34409.

(Generally, in the above acid addition method, there is a practical limit to the strength of stirring when adding diluted acid to the solution used, so the average particle size is 2 μm.
It is difficult to make the following fine particles.

) The suspension consisting of fine particles of sorbic acid and water or water and unevaporated organic solvent generated as described above accumulates at the bottom of the ejecta receiver, so it is taken out intermittently or continuously. .

For example, when a hot aqueous solution of 3% sorbic acid is ejected by the method of the present invention, the amount of water evaporated in the ejecta receiver is 1
A concentration of about 0% to 20% is sufficient, and subsequent concentration is performed by the method described below.

The suspension in the ejecta receiver in the method of the present invention has the following composition and properties.

That is, water (or water and organic solvent) in a weight ratio of 99 to 80
The ratio of the fine powder of sorbic acid is 1 to 20, preferably 3 to 10 to 97 to 90.

If the suspension taken out from the receiver still contains an organic solvent, it is distilled under reduced pressure at a temperature of 50°C or lower, preferably 40°C or lower, to completely remove the organic solvent as an azeotrope with water. need to be removed.

The individual sorbic acid fine particles in the suspension from which the organic solvent has been removed have the above-mentioned average particle size, but since they coagulate with each other to form quite large particles, they will settle if left to stand, but will easily settle if shaken. Disperses and does not clump during storage.

Therefore, it can be used as it is as an aqueous suspension, but since having excess water is inconvenient for use or transportation, the water is separated by standing, filtered, or centrifuged to obtain sorbic acid. Sorbic acid suspension with a concentration of 20% or more and about 30% or a sorbic acid concentration of 40% to 55%
% of the paste.

The above-mentioned static separation (decantation) can dehydrate the sorbic acid up to a concentration of about 30%, filtration can similarly dehydrate it to around 40% to 55%, and centrifugation can dehydrate it to 10% or less. In order to obtain a certain paste, less than 55% as sorbic acid, preferably 50%
The following is good.

A feature of the suspension of the present invention is that dehydration by the above-mentioned static separation, filtration, centrifugation, etc. is extremely easy and smooth.

This means that there are hardly any ultrafine particles of sorbic acid that would make the filtration difficult. This is because it takes a long time for the suspension to settle when it is left to stand, and it tends to clog filter media such as filter cloth or filter paper during filtration.

On the other hand, it is not impossible to use other known methods, such as pulverizing sorbic acid powder using a pulverizer, but the handling and operation tend to be complicated, and in terms of quality, there are problems similar to those of the method described below. In addition, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 46-34409, in which fine particles of sorbic acid are precipitated by adding acid to an aqueous solution of potassium sorbate, the particle size may be too fine or a large amount of fine particles may be deposited. However, dehydration by centrifugation is possible, but water tends to concentrate in the fine particles of suspended matter, and in the case of suspended matter, filtration etc. are difficult. Sedimented parts tend to solidify when left unattended, and in the case of paste-like materials (dehydrated to around 50% water content), it is difficult to collect samples during use and to dilute them smoothly with water, etc. , especially suspensions with a sorbic acid concentration of 30% or more or 40% or more55
% or less is not suitable for producing paste-like products.

As has been made clear from the above detailed explanation of the structure of the present invention, the sorbic acid suspension or paste used in the method of the present invention does not contain any impurities or additives other than water and sorbic acid, and the manufacturing method is It is superior to any known method in that it is extremely simple.

Further, the suspension or paste used in the method of the present invention is
By adding and mixing small amounts of emulsifiers, dispersants, dispersion stabilizers, etc. appropriate for the purpose of use, a uniform and stable dispersion or paste dispersion (hereinafter referred to as dispersion, etc.) can be easily created.
It can be done.

Such a dispersion liquid is stable and the sorbic acid fine particles do not easily settle and separate, and has good fluidity and dilutability, so it can be applied to foods, mixed in or diluted, and then spread over a wide area. It is extremely convenient.

The type and amount of such emulsifiers, dispersants, dispersion stabilizers, etc. to be used will depend on the type, shape, processing stage, storage period, etc. of the food to which the sorbic acid suspension or paste of the present invention is used. Therefore, the user of the suspension etc. can freely select the desired one.

Furthermore, it has the advantage that the amount of emulsifier used can be significantly reduced compared to when dispersing a suspension prepared by a known method.

The structure and effects of the present invention will be explained below with reference to Examples.

Example 1 30 g of purified sorbic acid crystals were dissolved in hot water to make a solution amount of 1000 g, and the solution was heated at 98° C. through a nozzle under a pressure of 4
It was ejected into a ejecta receiver with a stirrer maintained at 0-50 mmHg.

Approximately 90 g of water was distilled out due to water evaporation during ejection, and the temperature of the contents (suspension) after ejection was 45° C., and the yield was 905 g.

The suspension was taken out and subjected to suction filtration (using P paper) to separate excess water, yielding 49 g of a slightly hard creamy paste consisting of sorbic acid and water.

The water content in the paste was 46% (sorbic acid content 54%), and the yield of sorbic acid was 88%.

Approximately 3.5 g of sorbic acid was contained in approximately 850 g of the filtrate, and this was recoverable.

Then, HLB1 was added to the obtained material (46 g of paste).
5 sucrose fatty acid ester (product name DK ester F160
) was added and strongly stirred using a homogenizer (trade name, manufactured by Nippon Seiki) to obtain a paste-like material (paste-like emulsion) with a smooth texture.

This paste-like material is stable as an emulsion even if diluted several times with water, and when the particle size of the suspended particles was examined using a microscope, most of them were within the range of 1 μm or less and 0.5 μm or more. It was confirmed that there is.

Example 2 50g of purified sorbic acid crystals were dissolved in hot water to make a solution volume of 2000g, and the solution was heated to 95°C through a nozzle.200g of water at 10°C was kept stirring in a vessel, and the internal pressure was increased to 40~40°C.
The ejecta was ejected into an ejecta receiver maintained at 50 mmHg.

After the ejection was completed, the liquid temperature was 45° C., the ejection time was 30 minutes, and the amount of distilled and condensed water was 180 g.

Next, in this receiver, under stirring, the liquid temperature was 40°C, and the degree of vacuum was 40~40°C.
While maintaining the temperature at 50 mmHg, the suspension in which sorbic acid was precipitated was concentrated in 2 hours to 250 g.

This suspension was uniformly dispersed by shaking, and when left to stand for a while, it was clearly separated into a supernatant and a precipitate.

Next, add 0.5 g of sorbitan monolaurate polyethylene glycol ether of HLB 16.7 and C.
50 g of an aqueous solution in which 0.5 g of MC was dissolved was mixed using the homogenizer described above to obtain a dispersion of sorbic acid.

However, some relatively large particles of sorbic acid (1.5
It was observed that particles (μ to 5 μ) were present, and that the particles were sedimented and separated (when left standing for about 5 to 6 hours).

However, such a separated product was uniformly dispersed by shaking the whole product, and did not separate again (even after being left standing for 2 to 3 hours).

As is clear from the comparison between Example 2 and Example 1, the ejecta in the present invention can be concentrated to a fraction of the liquid volume even at a relatively low temperature such as 40°C. However, it is not preferable to do so because it causes crystal growth of some sorbic acid particles.
If the temperature is below ℃, there is almost no adverse effect.

However, excess water is separated by decantation or filtration rather than concentration, and the trace amount of sorbic acid dissolved in the water is separately recovered, or the separated water is reused in hot water containing sorbic acid. It is preferable to use it for dissolution.

Example 3 65g of crude sorbic acid crystals were dissolved in hot water to give a solution volume of 2
000 g, and 2 g of powdered activated carbon was added thereto, stirred for 1 hour, and then filtered while still in the heated solution state to remove the activated carbon powder.

This hot solution of sorbic acid is kept at 99℃ and the internal pressure is kept at 30~30℃.
The mixture was ejected into a ejecta receiver equipped with a stirrer maintained at 40 mmHg, and after the ejection was completed, 1750 g of a suspension at 32°C was obtained.

This suspension was filtered by suction using filter paper, and the water content was 4.
120 g of a 9% paste was obtained.

The paste was then bubbled with dry nitrogen for 10 hours at room temperature, resulting in a friable mass with a moisture content of 25%.

To this, sucrose fatty acid ester with HLB1 1 was added to the amount of 1% by weight based on the pure sorbic acid content in the above lump, and when kneaded, the fluidity gradually increased, and by the kneading, the sucrose fatty acid ester became uniform. transferring the mass to a homogenizer when it is considered mixed;
A creamy paste with an extremely smooth texture was obtained by vigorous stirring for a short period of time in the machine.

The paste can be easily diluted with water to any proportion to form a stable dispersion suspension, and the diameter of each individual particle of sorbic acid in the paste is 1 μm or less.
．． It was 5μ or more.

Comparative Example 1 30g of purified sorbic acid was dissolved in hot water to give a solution volume of 100g.
0g and then initially maintained at 98°C and externally cooled with vigorous stirring to 60°C within 5 minutes and below 40°C within 15 minutes to form a suspension with fine sorbic acid powder. It was made into a liquid.

Then, after filtering off the fine particles of sorbic acid in the suspension,
A small amount of water was added to the filtrate to adjust the water content in the filtrate to 70%, and then 10% by weight of HLB15 sucrose acid ester based on the pure sorbic acid was added and mixed with stirring to obtain a suspension. The liquid had poor dispersion stability and the precipitate had a gritty feel. This means that the normal cooling precipitation method from a hot aqueous solution of sorbic acid cannot produce the sorbic acid suspension or paste that is the object of the present invention. This shows that it is impossible to manufacture.

Comparative Example 2 30g of purified sorbic acid was dissolved in hot water containing 0.3P sucrose fatty acid ester of HLB15 to make a solution volume of 1000
g, and while maintaining the liquid at 98°C, reduce the pressure from the nozzle to 4
It was ejected into a ejecta receiver with a stirrer maintained at 0-50 mmHg.

Thereafter, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to obtain 907 g of an emulsion or dispersion of sorbic acid (hereinafter referred to as emulsified dispersion).

The concentration of sorbic acid in this emulsified dispersion is about 3%,
It was completely impossible to separate the fine particles of sorbic acid by filtration (due to clogging of the filter material or the emulsion being filtered).

Furthermore, when this emulsified dispersion was concentrated under reduced pressure while being maintained at 40°C to bring the moisture content to 70%, the dispersion stability of the dispersion (sorbic acid) in the emulsified dispersion was poor, and the particle size among the fine particles was relatively large. A considerable amount of material settled.

According to microscopic observation, most of the precipitates had a diameter of 1.2 μm or more, especially 1.5 μm or more.

As is clear from the above, when an emulsifier is present in the initial hot water to the extent that the sorbic acid particles become an emulsified dispersion after being cooled and precipitated, then the same nozzle jetting as in the method of the present invention is performed. Even with rapid cooling, it is not possible to obtain highly concentrated suspensions or even pastes of sorbic acid with properties similar to those of the process according to the invention.

This is because the size of the ejected droplets when a hot solution is ejected from the nozzle and the state of aggregation of the sorbic acid crystals that precipitate as the temperature of the droplets decreases vary widely depending on the presence of the surfactant. It is speculated that this is because of this.

Comparative Example 3 20 parts of purified sorbic acid (crystals) was thoroughly ground in a porcelain mortar, and after the grinding, coarse particles were removed using a 200 mesh sieve.

To 10 parts of this finely powdered sorbic acid and 0.5 parts of sorbitan monolaurate polyethylene glycol ether, water in which 0.5% CMC was dissolved was added and mixed at high speed with a homogenizer, and the sorbic acid concentration was 50% by weight. % pasty suspension was obtained.

Dilute this suspension with water to various ratios (2, 5, 10 times).
As a result, the dilution was easy and the dispersibility of the suspension in water was relatively good, but the dispersion stability after the dilution was poor, and in both cases the dilution was short (30 minutes to 2 hours). Upon standing, most of the suspension settled and separated.

In addition, the paste-like turbidity has a hard feel, and as a result of microscopic observation, the diameter of the fine particles of sorbic acid in the paste-like substance is:
Most were 10-50μ.

Example 4 45 g of purified sorbic acid crystals were dissolved in hot water to make a solution volume of 1000 g, and the solution was kept at 115° C. and passed from a nozzle into a ejecta receiver equipped with a stirrer and maintained at a reduced pressure of 100 mmHg. , 1,000 g of water at 10° C. was jetted into the vessel, which was kept in an agitated state.

Approximately 130g of water was distilled out due to water evaporation during the spouting, and the temperature of the contents (suspension) after the spouting was 30℃, and the yield was 1850g.
It was g.

The suspension was taken out and filtered with suction to obtain 75 g of a slightly hard creamy paste consisting of sorbic acid and water.

The water content in the paste was 50% (sorbic acid content 50%), and the yield of sorbic acid was 83%.

Approximately 7 g of sorbic acid was contained in approximately 1,760 g of the filtrate and could be recovered.

Next, the obtained product (paste 75P) was added with HLB15 sucrose fatty acid ester O. By adding 3 g and stirring strongly using a homogenizer, a paste-like material with a smooth texture was obtained.

This paste-like material exhibited dilutability, dispersion stability of the diluent, and particle size and distribution of dispersed particles equivalent to those of the paste-like material of Example 10.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hot aqueous solution of sorbic acid or a hot solution of water of sorbic acid and a water-soluble low-boiling organic solvent mixture is spouted from a nozzle and rapidly cooled, and at the same time or after cooling, excess water or water and an organic solvent are removed. A method for producing a suspension or paste consisting of precipitable sorbic acid fine particles and water, which is characterized by separation.