Use of preservatives to prevent rope

Rope has been and still is, a worldwide problem in bread, especially in countries where the climate is warm such as Australia, parts of Africa and India, and in some cases where the standards of hygiene and the enforcement of good manufacturing practices are poor. 

The first reference to rope in the literature was as long ago as 1885 (Laurent, 1885), when problems were reported to occur with homemade bread in Belgium. It was not until the time of World War I that rope had become a problem of serious importance. So much so, that Lloyd and his co-workers in 1917 were asked by the Food (War) Committee of the 

Royal Society to investigate the factors responsible for the numerous outbreaks that were occurring at that time. A summary of their findings was published in 1921 (Lloyd et al., 1921), and it became evident that a preservative was required to prevent rope development. 

Quantity used expressed as a percentage of the flour weight 

Interval before the first evidence of pH of rope (days) bread 

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