Alkaline salts have a variety of applications in the food and food-processing industries.

　　Alkaline salts have a wide range of applications in food and food processing. These include neutralizing excess acidity, adjusting the pH of formulations, enhancing color and flavor, chelating certain metal ions, and generating carbon dioxide gas. In the production of foods such as fermented cream, alkaline agents are used to neutralize excess acids; reducing acidity not only improves mixing efficiency but also helps prevent the development of oxidatively rancid odors.

　　Sometimes, alkali is required to adjust the pH of foods to a higher level in order to achieve more stable and desirable properties. For example, during cheese processing, adding an appropriate amount (1.5%–3.0%) of alkaline salts—such as disodium hydrogen phosphate, trisodium phosphate, and trisodium citrate—can raise the pH from 5.7 to 6.3 and promote the dispersion of proteins (casein). The interaction between these salts and proteins enhances the emulsification of cheese proteins and their water‑binding capacity, owing to the fact that water‑retaining salts bind with the calcium ions in casein micelles, forming either insoluble phosphates or soluble chelates (citrate complexes).

　　The preparation of conventional instant milk‑gel pudding involves mixing a dry blend containing pregelatinized starch with cold milk, then allowing the mixture to stand in the refrigerator for a specified period. Alkaline salts such as tetrasodium pyrophosphate (Na4P2O7) and disodium hydrogen phosphate (Na2HPO4) are added to promote the interaction between milk casein calcium and the pregelatinized starch, thereby forming a gel. The optimal pH for gel formation lies between 7.5 and 8.0.