Food additives

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or

enhance its taste and appearance. Some additives have been used for
centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling (with vinegar), salting,
preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as with wines. With the advent of
processed foods in the second half of the 20th century, many more additives
have been introduced, of both natural and artificial origin.
What Is a Food Additive?
In its broadest sense, a food additive is any substance added to
food.This definition includes any substance used in the production,
processing, treatment, packaging, transportation or storage of food.
1. Direct food additives- are those that are added to a food for a
specific purpose in that food.
For example, xanthan gum used in salad dressings, chocolate milk,
bakery fillings, puddings and other foods to add texture is a direct
additive. Most direct additives are identified on the ingredient label of
foods.
2. Indirect food additives- are those that become part of the food in
trace amounts due to its packaging, storage or other handling. For
instance, minute amounts of packaging substances may find their way
into foods during storage.

Categories of Food additives

Food additives can be divided into several groups, although there is some
overlap between them.
1. Acids
Food acids are added to make flavors "sharper", and also act as
preservatives and antioxidants. Common food acids include vinegar, citric
acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, andlactic acid.
2. Acidity regulators
Acidity regulators are used to change or otherwise control the acidity
and alkalinity of foods.
3. Anticaking agents
Anticaking agents keep powders such as milk powder from caking or
sticking.

4. Antifoaming agents
Antifoaming agents reduce or prevent foaming in foods.
5. Antioxidants
Antioxidants such as vitamin C act as preservatives by inhibiting the
effects of oxygen on food, and can be beneficial to health.
6. Bulking agents
Bulking agents such as starch are additives that increase the bulk of a
food without affecting its taste.
7. Food coloring
Colorings are added to food to replace colors lost during preparation,
or to make food look more attractive.
8. Color retention agents
In contrast to colorings, color retention agents are used to preserve a
food's existing color.
9. Emulsifiers
Emulsifiers allow water and oils to remain mixed together in
an emulsion, as in mayonnaise, ice cream, and homogenized milk.
10.
Flavors
Flavors are additives that give food a particular taste or smell, and may
be derived from natural ingredients or created artificially.
11.
Flavor enhancers
Flavor enhancers enhance a food's existing flavors. They may be
extracted from natural sources (through distillation, solvent extraction,
maceration, among other methods) or created artificially.
12.
Flour treatment agents
Flour treatment agents are added to flour to improve its color or its use
in baking.
13.
Glazing agents
Glazing agents provide a shiny appearance or protective coating to
foods.
14.
Humectants
Humectants prevent foods from drying out.
15.
Tracer gas
Tracer gas allow for package integrity testing to prevent foods from
being exposed to atmosphere, thus guaranteeing shelf life.
16.
Preservatives
Preservatives prevent
or
inhibit
spoilage
of
food
due
to fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms.
17.
Stabilizers

Stabilizers, thickeners and gelling agents, like agar or pectin (used

in jam for example) give foods a firmer texture. While they are not true
emulsifiers, they help to stabilize emulsions.
18.
Sweeteners
Sweeteners are added to foods for flavoring. Sweeteners other
than sugar are added to keep the food energy (calories) low, or because
they
have
beneficial
effects
for diabetes
mellitus
and tooth
decay and diarrhea.
19.
Thickeners
Thickening agents are substances which, when added to the mixture,
increase its viscosity without substantially modifying its other properties.
Why Are Food and Color Ingredients Added to Food?
Additives perform a variety of useful functions in foods that consumers
often take for granted. Some additives could be eliminated if we were willing
to grow our own food, harvest and grind it, spend many hours cooking and
canning, or accept increased risks of food spoilage. But most consumers
today rely on the many technological, aesthetic and convenient benefits that
additives provide.
Following are some reasons why ingredients are added to foods:
1.

To Maintain or Improve Safety and Freshness: Preservatives slow

product spoilage caused by mold, air, bacteria, fungi or yeast. In addition
to maintaining the quality of the food, they help control contamination
that can cause food borne illness, including life-threatening botulism.
Ex:- antioxidants prevent fats and oils and the foods containing them
from becoming rancid or developing an off-flavor. They also prevent cut
fresh fruits such as apples from turning brown when exposed to air.

2.

To Improve or Maintain Nutritional Value: Vitamins and minerals

(and fiber) are added to many foods to make up for those lacking in a
person's diet or lost in processing, or to enhance the nutritional quality of
a food. Such fortification and enrichment has helped reduce malnutrition
in the U.S. and worldwide. All products containing added nutrients must
be appropriately labeled.

3.

Improve Taste, Texture and Appearance: Spices, natural and

artificial flavors and sweeteners are added to enhance the taste of food.
Food colors maintain or improve appearance. Emulsifiers, stabilizers and
thickeners give foods the texture and consistency consumers expect.
Leavening agents allow baked goods to rise during baking. Some
additives help control the acidity and alkalinity of foods, while other
ingredients help maintain the taste and appeal of foods with reduced fat
content.

Numbering
To regulate these additives, and inform consumers, each additive is
assigned a unique number, termed as "E numbers", which is used
in Europe for all approved additives. This numbering scheme has now been
adopted and extended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission to
internationally identify all additives, regardless of whether they are approved
for use.
E numbers are all prefixed by "E", but countries outside Europe use only the
number, whether the additive is approved in Europe or not. For
example, acetic acid is written as E260 on products sold in Europe, but is
simply known as additive 260 in some countries. Additive 103, alkanet, is not
approved for use in Europe so does not have an E number, although it is
approved for use in Australia and New Zealand. Since 1987, Australia has
had an approved system of labelling for additives in packaged foods. Each
food additive has to be named or numbered. The numbers are the same as in
Europe, but without the prefix "E".