Potassium pyruvate refers to potassium sorbate, also known as potassium 2,4-hexadienoate, which is the potassium salt of sorbic acid with the molecular formula of C6H7O2K. White to light yellow flaky crystals, crystalline particles or crystalline powder, odorless or slightly odorless, easy to absorb moisture, oxidize, decompose and discolor after long-term exposure to air.

Soluble in water, propylene glycol and ethanol. It is often used as a preservative, which destroys many enzyme systems by combining with sulfhydryl groups of microbial enzyme systems, and its toxicity is far lower than other preservatives, so it is widely used at present. Potassium sorbate can give full play to its anti-corrosion effect in acidic medium, but it has little anti-corrosion effect under neutral conditions.