ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Preservative

A preservative is like a magic potion that helps keep things from getting yucky and gross. You know how sometimes your favorite snack or toy starts to smell bad or get moldy after a while? Well, preservatives can help prevent that!

Preservatives are usually added to things like food or beauty products to help them last longer without spoiling. They work by stopping tiny bad things called bacteria and fungi from growing and multiplying. Like how your mom puts a band-aid on a boo-boo to keep it clean, preservatives keep the things we use and eat clean and safe.

Some people might worry about preservatives being bad for us, but the truth is, most preservatives are perfectly safe in small amounts. Just like how you need to eat your broccoli and carrots to stay healthy, we need preservatives in our food and products to keep them fresh and safe for us to use. So to sum it all up, a preservative is like a magic potion that keeps our stuff from getting gross and keeps us healthy and safe!
Related topics others have asked about: