Does potassium sorbate have a pungent odor?

Question

I ordered potassium sorbate powder from Amazon but on opening it, I noticed that the powder has a very repulsive and pungent odor. It is not just me who smells it that way. My friends also confirm that the odor is very pungent. Chemistry sources online including wikipedia describe is as an odorless compound. So I would be grateful if someone can confirm that the powder smells that way.

I did read another answer here about the diluted product in pastries and wine smelling of geraniums. This is not what I am referring to. I am referring to the smell of the dry powder itself.

UPDATE: To be sure about the odor, I ordered another sample of the potassium sorbate from a Canada based seller on Amazon. That sample is more granular (rather than as an amorphous powder which was the case from the earlier Birch and Meadow dealer) and the Canada-seller's sample does not have ANY odor whatsoever.

Uploaded are the pictures of the potassium sorbate powder from the "Birch and Meadow" company which has a smell. I am also a little concerned because the inner cardboard lining of the lid (as seen in the picture) has a brown stain as if it was previously damp/wet and dried up.

The odor of the powder from Birch and Meadow can be best described as "musty", the sort of smell we have in old cupboards that have been left opened for a very long time.

The PubChem entry does say that the compound has be protected from light and stored at a temperature below 100 degrees Fahrenheit. So I am concerned that this powder could have possibly undergone at least partial degradation.

I have done the obvious and tried to get in touch with the Amazon seller. I am waiting to hear from him. Meanwhile I decided to make this post because I really want to use the powder from this dealer if the smell is normal and expected because the price is a lot more economical than other sellers.

Answer 1

Potassium sorbate has what is known as a "characteristic odor". This is a common term in chemistry that doesn't help you much as you have to have smelled it before so that you can recognize it again. However, smells are a bit subjective, so descriptors are difficult. I don't know that I have ever had occasion to smell it myself or remember smelling it.

Wikipedia says that it does have an odor (see table on right-hand side, under the Properties section), as does the more authoritative PubChem entry . Given that it is a compound of potassium and sorbic acid, and that another name for sorbic acid is 2,4-hexadienoic acid, it is likely to smell "organic" (in the chemistry sense) - like solvent at a guess, but smells don't transfer well across groups of organic molecules, so it is hard to say for sure..