The preservative efficacy of sodium benzoate decreases drastically when the pH of the food product rises above 4.5. Which of the following chemical explanations accounts for this phenomenon?

Options:

• A: At higher pH, sodium benzoate precipitates out of the solution as insoluble crystals
• B: High pH causes the rapid hydrolytic cleavage of the benzene ring in sodium benzoate
• C: At higher pH, the benzoate ion dominates, which cannot easily penetrate the lipophilic microbial cell membrane compared to the undissociated benzoic acid
• D: The sodium ions dissociate completely at high pH, neutralizing the antimicrobial activity of the benzoate group

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