FOOD ADDITIVES RENUGA.J B.Tech Chemical

Definition  Food Additives are any substances that become part of a food product.  Food Additives can be intentional or unintentional.

Intentional additives:  Enrichment – restore lost nutrients to food  Fortification – increase nutritional value of food

Unintentional Additives:  Insecticides  Fungicides  Herbicides  Plant Growth Regulators  Hormones and Antibiotics

Functions/Purposes:  Prolong shelf life  Change/preserve color  Enhance flavor  Improve nutritional value  Compensate for vitamin and mineral deficiencies  Maintain freshness  Prevent spoiling  Facilitate food processing

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. Additives may be:

Delaney Clause, 1958  No substance known to cause cancer in animals or humans at any dose level shall be purposefully added to food

Improper Uses  To disguise faulty or inferior products  To deceive consumers  To destroy nutritional value  To produce effects that can otherwise be achieved safely

Government Agencies  United States Department of Agriculture – assess food safety  United States Food and Drug Administration – approve food crops

Types of Additives  Antioxidants Prevent fats and oils from spoiling  Coloring Agents Improve color of processed foods  Emulsifiers/Stabilizers Prevent mixed foods from separating  Preservatives Prevent the growth of spoilage  Sweeteners/Flavor Enhancers. Bring out the taste of foods

Risks  Cancer, birth defects, allergies, and health problems can result.  Benzoates - Allergies such as skin rashes and asthma as well as believed to be causing brain damage.  Caffeine - colorant and flavorant ;has diuretic, stimulant properties; causes nervousness, heart palpitations and occasionally heart defects.  Oil is soluble in body fat.  The cost of food production increases for farmers.

Some Dangerous Food Additives Additive number Name of Additive Hyper- activity AsthmaCancer 102 & E102 Tartrazine (food color) HAC 107 & E107 Yellow 2G (food color) HAC 120 & E120 Carmines, Cochineal (food color) HA-

Conclusion Food additives are making a major contribution to the goal of assuring a better supply of food through increased food production, improved nutritional quality, improved packaging, preservation, and distribution techniques. Consumers can avoid synthetic food colorings by checking labels in grocery stores or by shopping at chains like Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's, which refuse to sell foods with artificial coloring.

Where to look for food additives on a product label?  When buying groceries, these additives are listed (if it’s given by the law) on the food product’s packaging under “INGREDIENTS:” or “CONTAINS:” section, usually next to “Nutrition Information” but the code numbers or names of these additives can be printed on in a small font.  In my opinion placement of the text can be somewhat hidden or even misleading. Any dangerous additives added in the food, if the product contains any, really should be listed visibly and labeled on the pack for instance as “Nasty Additives“.

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