Introduction to Food Additives
According to Food Protection Committee of the Food and Nutrition Board, food additives may be defined as below:
Definition: Food Additives
A substance or a mixture of substances, other than a basic foodstuff, which is present in a food as a result of any aspect of production, processing, storage, or packaging.
- Since prehistoric times, chemicals have been added to foods to perform special functions.
- Although basic foods contain no additives
- As foods are processed for conversion into a variety of products, an increasing number of additives are generally used.
- Technological advances in food processing have increased the variety and use of these additives.
- Today, more than 2500 different additives are intentionally added to foods to produce a desired effect.
- The use of these additives is a well accepted practice but is not without controversy.
Type of Additives:
Additives can be derived into six major categories:
- Preservatives
- Nutritional additives
- Flavouring agents
- Colouring agents
- Texturizing agents
- Miscellaneous additives
- Several lists of these additives are available
- Several additives commonly serve more than one function in foods
- In Europe and other parts of the world, the E system developed by European Union (formally the European Economic Community), provides a listing of several commonly used additives.
- The European Union adopted directives which set the criteria by which additives are assessed.
- The European Scientific Committee for Food oversees additives safety against the established criteria.
- Specific directives have been established for sweeteners, colours and other food additives
- The Codex committee on Food Additives and Contaminants has developed an International Numbering System (INS) for food additives based on the E-system.
- The INS system is broader than the E-system and is intended as an identification system for food additive approved for use in one or more countries.
- The INS numbers are largely the same numbers used in the E-system without the E.
- The INS system also includes a listing of the technical function for each additive based on 23 functional classes.
- The E-numbers are categorized as follows:
- E100 – E199 (Colours)
- E200 – E299 (Preservatives)
- E300 – E399 (Anti-oxidants, Acidity Regulators)
- E400 – E499 (Thickeners, Stabilizers, Emulsifiers)
- E500 – E599 (Acidity Regulators, Anti-Caking Agents)
- E600 – E699 (Flavour Enhancers)
- E900 – E999 (Surface Coating Agents, Gases, Sweeteners)
- E1000 – E1999 (Additional Chemicals)
Benefits of Additives:
There are clearly many recognized benefits to be derived from additives.
Some of the major benefits are:
- A safer and more nutritious food supply
- A grater choice of food products
- and a lower priced food supply
- Safer and More Nutritious Foods
- There is no question that the preservatives and nutritional additives used in foods increases the safety and overall value of many food products.
- The use of several antimicrobials is known to prevent food poisoning from various bacteria and moulds.
- Antioxidants used to prevent the development of off-flavours, also prevent the formation of potentially toxic autoxidation products and maintain the nutritional value of vitamins and lipids.
- The use of various nutritional additives such as vitamins also of proven value in preventing nutritional deficiencies.
- Greater choice of Foods
- Most major supermarkets today carry more than 20,000 food items, providing the consumer a wide choice of food products
- The availability of additives has allowed the production of numerous out-of-season foods and a variety of new food products
- Additives have increased the development of:
- Convenience foods, snack foods, low-calorie and health promoting (functional) foods and exotic (foreign) foods.
- Additives allow these foods to be pre-prepared and still maintain acceptable flavour, texture and nutritional value.
- It is estimated that the shelf-life of cereal products can be increased over 200% by the use of anti-oxidants
- The snack food industry has continued to be successful because the use of coloring and flavouring additives make available a wide array of snack items.
- The greatest increase in food additives use in the next several years is likely to be in the functional food
- A functional food: can be defined as a food or beverage that imparts a physiological benefit that enhances overall health, helps prevent or treat a disease/condition, or improves physical or mental performance via an added functional ingredient, processing modification, or biotechnology.
Dangers of food additives and preservatives
- Although additives and preservatives are essentials for food storage, they can give rise to certain health problems.
- They can cause different allergies and conditions such as hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder in some people who are sensitive to specific chemicals.
- The food containing additives can cause asthma, hay fever and certain reactions such as rashes, vomiting, headache, tight chest, hives and worsening of eczema.
- Toxicological problems resulting from the long-term consumption of additives are not well documented.
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- Guidance on Food Additives
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