Master List of Typical pH and Acid Content of Fruits and Vegetables for Home Canning and Preserving

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Master List of Typical pH and Acid Content of Fruits and Vegetables for Home Canning and Preserving

Master List of Typical pH and Acid Content of Fruits, Vegetables, Meats, Etc. for Home Canning and Preserving

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Updated for 2026

The pH and/or acidity of a food is generally used to determine the safe home canning methods and conditions. The term "pH" is a measure of acidity; the lower its value, the more acid the food. The equipment used for determining pH was generally pH meters. Canning methods are described on this page . Some liquids, like lemon juice, lime juice and vinegar, are used as acidifiers, to help lower the pH of foods to increase safety. See this page for an explanation . Understand that in presenting this information, we are not encouraging anyone to invent their own canning recipes - they would still require lab testing to determine their safety. But this may help with simple substitutions. Canning directions and recipes that are based on this information and tested in a lab are provided here.

The approximate ranges of pH values for many common fresh and processed foods are listed below. Keep in mind that considerable variation exists between varieties, condition of growing and processing methods, etc. The data presented is applicable to the edible portion of foods in their normal and natural state, unless otherwise designated. The FDA would like your input to this matter. This list will be updated when new information is available.

Acid foods are foods that contain enough acid to have a pH of 4.6 or lower. They include fruits, pickles, sauerkraut , jams, jellies, marmalades, and fruit butters. Acidic foods can be processed safely in a boiling water canner, usually without added acid (lemon juice, vinegar or citric acid). This is necessary to control botulinum bacteria. Acidity may be natural, as in most fruits, or added, as in pickled food. Low-acid canned foods are not acidic enough to prevent the growth of these bacteria. Acid foods contain enough acid to block their growth, or destroy them more rapidly when heated. The acidity level in foods can usually be increased by adding lemon juice, citric acid, or vinegar, although this by itself, does not mean the recipe is safe.

Low-acid foods have pH values higher than 4.6 up to 6.9. (non-acidic, or alkaline foods have pH values of 7.0 or greater) .They include red meats, seafood, poultry, milk, and all fresh vegetables except for most tomatoes. Most mixtures of low-acid and acid foods also have pH values above 4.6 unless their recipes include enough lemon juice, citric acid, or vinegar to make them acid foods.

In using this table, bear in mind that considerable variation exists between varieties, condition of growing and processing methods, etc. Data is presented for the edible portion of foods in their normal and natural state, unless otherwise designated.  Where the research found a range of values due to variability in the samples, the range is provided.  Where a single consistent value was determined, that value is provided.

If you would like to see the table broken down by categories, see these links:

• pH of fresh fruits , acidic and low acid
• pH of Vegetables
• pH of meats, beef, chicken, fish, pork
• ph of eggs, dairy
• pH of soups
• pH of some processed foods

References:

The research upon which our analysis and the resultant table above relies is from FDA and other university institution that have conducted research about the pH of foods.

1. U.S. FDA and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition - The documents USED to be here pH of Foods FDA - CFSAN , but in early 2021, the FDA reorganized their website and that page vanished.
2. Anon. 1962. pH values of food products. Food Eng. 34(3): 98-99.
3. Bridges, M. A., and Mattice, M.R. 1939. Over two thousand estimations of the pH of representative foods, American J. Digestive Diseases, 9:440-449.
4. Warren L. Landry and et al. 1995. Examination of canned foods. FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual, 8th Ed. Chapter 21, Table 11, AOAC International, Gaithersburg, MD 20877
5. Grahn M.A. 1984. Acidified and low acid foods from Southeast Asia. FDA-LIB
6. PubMed provides a comparison reference:  Blood has a pH range of 7.35 to 7.45 and stomach acid have a.