Chemicals in Food

Food additives

Dr. Harminder Singh

harminder.singh@lpu.co.in
 Learning objectives

To identify the reason(s) why food additives are

used.
To understand the different sources of food
additives.
To understand the different roles and functions of
food additives in food.

Dr. Harminder Singh

Why using food additives (PAT)

Preserving
Attractive
Tastier

Dr. Harminder Singh

 What are food
additives?

Food additives are substances

added to products to perform
specific technological functions.
These functions include:
•adding colour, flavour and
sweetness to food for interest and
variety.
•preserving, i.e. increasing shelf-
life or inhibiting the growth of
pathogens, Dr. Harminder Singh
Main classes of food additives (Big
7)
1. Colourings
2. Preservatives
3. Flavourings

1. Emulsifiers and stabilizers(Stabilize oil-water

mixtures like ice-cream)
2. Acids, bases and buffers(Control the pH value of
food)
3. Sweeteners(To sweeten food without using
sugar)
4. Nutrients
Dr. Harminder Singh
 Introduction

Food additives can be divided into two major

groups
Intentional additives
● Chemical substances that are added to food for
specific purpose
● Are regulated by strict governmental controls
Incidental additives
● We have little control over incidental or unintentional
additives

Dr. Harminder Singh

 Intentional Additives

Chemicals that are intentionally

introduced to foods to aid in
processing
to act as preservatives
or to improve the quality of the food –
are called intentional additives
Their use is strictly regulated by
national and international laws
Dr. Harminder Singh
 Intentional Additives

The purpose of food additives

To improve or maintain nutritional value
To enhance quality
To reduce wastage
To enhance consumer acceptability
To improve keeping quality
To make the food more readily available
To facilitate preparation of the food
Dr. Harminder Singh
 Intentional Additives
In the following situations additives should not be used:
To disguise faulty or inferior processes
To conceal damage, spoilage, or other inferiority
To deceive the consumer
If use entail substantial reduction in important nutrients
If the desired effect can be obtained by economical, good
manufacturing practices
In amount greater than the minimum necessary to achieve
the desired effects

Dr. Harminder Singh

 Types of additives

Additives may be:

• Natural – found naturally, such as extracts from
beetroot juice (E162), used as a colouring agent;

• Manmade versions – synthetic identical copies of

substances found naturally, such as benzoic acid (E210),
used as a preservative;

• Artificial – produced synthetically and not found

naturally, such as nisin (E234), used as a preservative in
some dairy products and in semolina and tapioca puddings.
Dr. Harminder Singh
 Why not keep to natural additives?

Some artificial colours have almost disappeared from foods

as companies realised that many consumers prefer food
products to contain natural colours.

At present there is not the variety of natural additives

required to perform all the functions of additives necessary.

Manmade additives may prove more efficient at

preserving, and some natural colours fade in some
products.

Dr. Harminder Singh

Toxicity – is the capacity of a substance to
produce injury
Hazard – is the probability that injury will result
form the intended use of the substance
It is now well recognized that many components
of our foods, whether natural or added, are toxic
at certain levels, but harmless or even
nutritionally essential at lower levels
The ratio between effective dose and toxic dose
of many compounds, including such common
nutrients as amino acids and salts, is the order
of 1 to 100

Dr. Harminder Singh

 Colours

Colours aim to:

restore colour lost during processing or storage, e.g. marrowfat
peas;

ensure that each batch produced is identical in appearance or

does not appear ‘off’;

reinforces colour already in foods, e.g. enhance the yellowness

of a custard;

give colour to foods which otherwise would be colourless (e.g.

soft drinks) and so make them more attractive.
Dr. Harminder Singh
 Colours

Certain combinations of the following articifical food

colours: sunset yellow (E110), quinoline yellow (E104),
carmoisine (E122), allura red (E129), tartrazine (E102) and
ponceau 4R (E124) have been linked to a negative effect on
children’s behaviour.

These colours are used in soft drinks,

sweets and ice cream.

The Food Standards Agency suggest if signs of

hyperactivity or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are
seen in a child, these additives should be avoided.
Dr. Harminder Singh
 Flavour enhancers

Flavour enhancers bring out the flavour in foods

without imparting a flavour of their own, e.g.
Monosodium glutamate (E612) is added to
processed foods. For example some soups, sauces,
salad dressing and sausages.
(Prolonged eating cause numbness in a portion of
brain)
Flavourings, on the other hand, are added to a wide
range of foods, usually in small amounts to give a
particular taste. These do not have E numbers because
they are controlled by different food laws. Ingredients
lists will say if flavourings have been used, but
individual flavourings might not be named.
Dr. Harminder Singh
 Sweeteners

Sweeteners include:
• intense sweeteners, e.g. saccharin, have a sweetness
many times that of sugar and therefore are used in small
amounts, e.g. in diet foods, soft drinks, sweetening tablets;
(non caloric, control obesity but causes bladder tumours)

• bulk sweeteners, e.g. sorbitol, have a similar sweetness to

sugar and are used at similar levels.

If concentrated cordial drinks that contain sweeteners are

given to children between the ages of 6 months to 4 years, it is
important to dilute them more than for adults. Infants under 6
months should not be given cordial drinks.

Dr. Harminder Singh