On the pH scale from 0 to 14, car battery's acid has a pH of 0, and lemons with a pH of 1have many hydrogen ions. Acid will kill you and lemons are an acidic food, and taste sour. A cola soft drink has a pH of 2, pure water is neutral at 7, and milk of magnesia is a 10. Moving toward 14, an alkaline food product like milk of magnesia will have less hydrogen ions and will taste bitter. Caustic drain cleaner, which is not a food product, is at 14.
Bad milk tastes sour, as does the vinegar taste of spoiled cottage cheese.
Quality control in prepared or processed foods depends on the control of the pH level. Inadequate control of the pH can result in the undesired growth of bacteria and a health hazard to the consumer. Fire statistical data found in the 1998 Statistical Abstract are limited to national data covering property losses, specific types of property and structure use. There are only national fire data about civilian injuries, deaths, and property loss provided by the National Fire Protection Association. The United States Fire Administration's National Fire incident Reporting System collects data from 27 cities and has the largest set of fire data in the United States.