Valeric acid or pentanoic acid is a straight chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula CH3(CH2)3COOH.

Propionic acid (PA) is widely used as an antifungal agent in food. It is present naturally at low levels in dairy products and occurs ubiquitously together with other short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) in the gastro-intestinal tract of humans and other mammals as an end-product of the microbial digestion of carbohydrates.

1,3-Dihydroxyacetone is the main active ingredient in sunscreen tanning skin care preparations, an important precursor for the synthesis of a variety of fine chemicals, and a food additive that can be produced on an industrial scale by microbial fermentation on Gluconobacter oxydans.