..Food..

Additives
Food additives, in the broadest sense, are
any substances added to food.
In the food industry, food additives are
considered as substances added to food
products to improve quality, shelf life, and
sensorial properties.
The food additives being used should present no
risk to the health of the consumer at the levels of
use.

(a) To preserve the nutritional quality of the food;

(b) To enhance the keeping quality or stability of a food or to
improve its organoleptic properties;
(c) To provide necessary constituents for foods manufactured
for groups of consumers having special dietary needs
 Food additives are classified as direct and
indirect. Direct additives are those added to a
food for a specific purpose. While indirect
additives are those that become part of the food
in trace amounts due to its packaging, storage
or other handling.
Four general categories
of food additives
 Nutritional additives

Nutritional additives are utilized for the purpose of restoring

nutrients lost or degraded during production, fortifying or
enriching certain foods in order to correct dietary
deficiencies, or adding nutrients to food substitutes.
Vitamins are commonly added to many foods in order to
enrich their nutritional value. For example, vitamins A and D
are added to dairy and cereal products, several of the B
vitamins are added to flour, cereals, baked goods, and pasta,
and vitamin C is added to fruit beverages, cereals, dairy
products, and confectioneries.
 Processing agents

A number of agents are added to foods in order to aid

in processing or to maintain the desired consistency of
the product.
Processing additives and their uses

function typical chemical agent typical product

anticaking sodium aluminosilicate salt
bleaching benzoyl peroxide flour
chelating ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) dressings, mayonnaise, sauces, dried
bananas
clarifying bentonite, proteins fruit juices, wines
conditioning potassium bromate flour
emulsifying lecithin ice cream, mayonnaise, bakery products

leavening yeast, baking powder, baking soda bakery products

moisture control glycerol marshmallows, soft candies, chewing

(humectants) gum
pH control citric acid, lactic acid certain cheeses, confections, jams and
jellies
stabilizing and thickening pectin, gelatin, carrageenan, gums (arabic, dressings, frozen desserts, confections,
guar, locust bean) pudding mixes, jams and jellies
Types of processing agents:

Emulsifiers
Stabilizers and thickeners
Chelating or sequestering agents
 Preservatives

Food preservatives are classified into two main

groups: antioxidants and antimicrobials.
Antioxidants are compounds that delay or prevent the
deterioration of foods by oxidative mechanisms.
Antimicrobial agents inhibit the growth of spoilage
and pathogenic microorganisms in food
CHEMICAL AGENT MECHANISM OF ACTION

Antioxidants

ascorbic acid oxygen scavenger

butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) free radical scavenger

butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) free radical scavenger

citric acid enzyme inhibitor/metal chelator

sulfites enzyme inhibitor/oxygen scavenger

tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) free radical scavenger

tocopherols free radical scavenger

Antimicrobials

acetic acid disrupts cell membrane function (bacteria, yeasts, some molds)

benzoic acid disrupts cell membrane function/inhibits enzymes (molds, yeasts, some
bacteria)

natamycin binds sterol groups in fungal cell membrane (molds, yeasts)

nisin disrupts cell membrane function (gram-positive bacteria, lactic acid-producing

bacteria)

nitrates, nitrites inhibits enzymes/disrupts cell membrane function (bacteria, primarily

Clostridium botulinum)

propionic acid disrupts cell membrane function (molds, some bacteria)

sorbic acid disrupts cell membrane function/inhibits enzymes/inhibits bacterial spore

germination (yeasts, molds, some bacteria)

sulfites and sulfur dioxide inhibits enzymes/forms addition compounds (bacteria, yeasts, molds)
 Sensory agents
1. COLORANTS:
are often necessary to produce a uniform product from raw
materials that vary in color intensity. Colorants used as food
additives are classified as natural or synthetic.
Natural colorants are derived from plant, animal, and mineral
sources, while synthetic colorants are primarily petroleum-
based chemical compounds.
2. FLAVORINGS:
A flavor additive is a single chemical or blend of chemicals
of natural or synthetic origin that provides all or part of the
flavor impact of a particular food. These chemicals are added
in order to replace flavor lost in processing and to develop
new products.
Natural flavorings are derived or extracted from plants,
spices, herbs, animals, or microbial fermentations. Artificial
flavorings are mixtures of synthetic compounds that may be
chemically identical to natural flavorings.
 Natural food colorants
chemical class colour plant source pigment products

anthocyanins red strawberry (Fragaria pelargonidin 3- beverages, confections,

species) glucoside* preserves, fruit products

blue grape (Vitisspecies) malvidin 3-glucoside* beverages

betacyanins red beetroot (Beta vulgaris) betanin dairy products, desserts,

icings
carotenoids** yellow/orange annatto (Bixa orellana) bixin dairy products, margarine

yellow saffron (Crocus sativus) crocin rice dishes, bakery products

red/orange paprika (Capsicum annuum) capsanthin soups, sauces

orange carrot (Daucus carota) beta-carotene bakery products, confections

red mushroom (Cantharellus canthaxanthin sauces, soups, dressings

cinnabarinus)

phenolics orange/yellow turmeric (Cuycuma longa) curcumin dairy products, confections

 Synthetic food colorants
common name designation products
United European
States Union

allura red AC FD&C red no. 40 ... gelatin, puddings, dairy products, confections, beverages

brilliant blue FCF FD&C blue no. 1 E133 beverages, confections, icings, syrups, dairy products

erythrosine FD&C red no. 3 E127 maraschino cherries

fast green FCF FD&C green no. 3 ... beverages, puddings, ice cream, sherbet, confections

indigo carmine FD&C blue no. 2 E132 confections, ice cream, bakery products

sunset yellow FCF FD&C yellow no. 6 E110 bakery products, ice cream, sauces, cereals, beverages

tartrazine FD&C yellow no. 5 E102 beverages, cereals, bakery products, ice cream, sauces
How to detect presence of
food additives
Sensory Attributes
Once food additives are added to food, they
create some changes in the taste, color and
texture of food.
Chromatographic techniques
Paper chromatography is used to analyze colored
substances such as artificial colors used as food
additives
Chromatographic techniques in common use today in
food analysis include gas chromatography (GC), high-
performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and
supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC).
Spectroscopic techniques
- Spectroscopy is based on interactions of matter with
electromagnetic radiation. Interactions can take the form of
absorption and emission, and can be detected by using emission,
transmission, and reflection designs.
- Food scientists most often deal with the ultraviolet (UV), visible
(Vis), infrared (IR), radio (nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR),
and microwave (electron spin resonance, ESR) regions of the
spectrum, and use spectroscopic techniques for quantitative and
qualitative analyses.
Common Preservatives and
Permitted Level of Use
PRESERVATIVES Permitted in/upon Conditions or Permitted level of use

Acetic Acid Preserved fish; Preserved meat; Condition: it must be made through
Ascorbic Acid Preserved meat by-product; Ale; Beer; Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
Sodium Ascorbate Canned mushrooms; Canned tuna;
Citric Acid Cider; Frozen minced fish; Frozen
Lecithin fruit; meat by-product; Wine
Tartaric acid

Potassium Nitrate Beer; Canned mushrooms; Canned
Potassium Nitrite tuna; Canned white asparagus; Cider;
Sodium Nitrate Frozen minced fish; Preserved fish;
Preserved meat; Preserved meat by-
product; Preserved poultry meat;
Preserved poultry meat by-product;
The total amount of such nitrites
thereby added to each batch of
preserved meat or preserved meat by-
products shall not exceed 0.32 ounce
per 100 pounds or 200 parts per
million, calculated prior to any
smoking, cooking or fermentation.
 Benzoic Acid Apple and jam; Concentrated juice,
Potassium Benzoate Packaged fish and meat products
that are marinated or otherwise 1,000 p.p.m.
cold-processed; Tomato catsup;
Tomato paste; Tomato pulp; Tomato
puree

Ethyl lauroyl arginate Cheddar cheese; Meat by-product loaf; 200 p.p.m. calculated as ethyl-N-
Meat loaf; Prepared fish or prepared alpha-dodecanoyl-L-arginate
meat; Preserved fish or preserved meat hydrochloride

Crustaceans Good Manufacturing Practice.

4-Hexylresorcinol
Potassium Diacetate Meat by-product loaf; Meat loaf;
Prepared fish or prepared meat;
Preserved fish or preserved meat
Residues in the edible portion of the
uncooked product not to exceed 1.0
p.p.m.
0.25% of final product weight. If used
in combination with sodium diacetate,
the total not to exceed 0.25% of final
product weight.
 Potassium Lactate Solid cut meat; Solid cut poultry
meat, Prepared fish of prepared Good Manufacturing Practice
meat

Calcium Propionate Meat by-product loaf; Meat loaf;

Prepared fish or prepared meat; 2,000 p.p.m. calculated as Propionic
Preserved fish or preserved meat Acid

Sodium metabisulphite Olives and processed meat and fish 100 p.p.m. calculated as sulphur
dioxide

Tocopherols Frozen fish fillets; Frozen prepared 300 mg/kg

fish fillets
 Propionic Acid Bread and Processed Cheese 2,000 p.p.m

Potassium Sorbate Cakes; Croissants; Danish pastries; 3,500 p.p.m

Muffins

Sorbic Acid Apple and jam; Concentrated juice,

Packaged fish and meat products that
are marinated or otherwise cold- 1,000 p.p.m
processed; Tomato catsup; Tomato
paste; Tomato pulp; Tomato puree

Propyl Gallate Fats and oils other than milk fat, olive
oil and suet; Lard; Shortening The total must not exceed 0.02%
List of Harmful Food
Preservatives
 Benzoates used as preservative for pickles, flour, margarine, fruit
purees, fruit juices, and beer etc. can trigger allergies and may cause
brain damage.

Bromates- the common food preservative used in white flour and

bread- destroy nutrients and can cause diarrhea.

Butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHA

and BHT) are the synthetic antioxidant preservatives that have caused
cancers in rats (however, this is a debatable issue as some studies have
even showed that they may actually protect against the development of
cancers).
 Mono-glceryides and Di-glceryides can cause birth defects and
cancer.

Propyl gallate may cause birth defects and liver damage.

Sulfites, may have side effects in form of headaches, joint pain, heart
palpitations, allergies, and cancer.

Maleic hydrazide, the harmful food preservative (in fact a chemical

inhibitor) is used to preserve potatoes to prevent them from sprouting.
It has resulted in cancer in laboratory animals.
 Propylene glycol and Carboxymethylcellulose are used to make Ice cream.
Propylene glycol is the same substance that is used in antifreeze and paint remover
and therefore it can clearly be seen as harmful food preservative.
Carboxymethylcellulose is a stabilizer, also used in salad dressing, cheese spreads
and chocolate milk and has shown to produce tumors in 80% of rats injected with
it.

Brominated oils They cause changes in heart tissue, enlargement of the thyroid,
kidney damage, decrease in liver metabolism and also cause withered testicles.
Sodium nitrate, suspected of inciting stomach cancer.

Citric Acid it has side effects such as asthmatic attacks and allergic reactions.
However, naturally occurring citric acid is a safe food preservative.
 References:
Simpso, J. 2015. Harmful Effects of Preservatives in Food. Retrieved from
http://www.livestrong.com/article/440737-list-of-foods-without-coloring-preservatives/. Date
retrieved: Nov. 23, 2016.
Side Effects of Harmful Food Preservatives. 2013. Retrieved from:
http://www.foodadditivesworld.com/articles/harmful-preservatives.html. Date retrieved: Nov. 23,
2016.
Otles, S. (2005). Methods of Analysis of Food Components and Additives. CRC Press
https://www.britannica.com/topic/food-additive
http://www.eufic.org/article/en/artid/food-additives-explained/
Thank
You!