Food Additives Substances intentionally added to food to improve colour, flavour, keeping quality, nutritive value or physical condition(texture) © PDST Home Economics.

Classification of additives Colourings: E Preservatives: E Antioxidants: E Physical conditioning agents: E400-E499 Flavourings: No E nos. Flavour Enhancers: E Sweeteners:E Nutritive additives: No E nos

Colourings: E100-E199 ClassExamplesUseOriginFunctions NaturalChlorophyll (E140) Carotene Cochineal (E120) Caramel Tinned veg Soft drinks Red jelly Brown sauce, gravy Plants Carrots Cactus insects Heated carbs.- Caramelisation Improve appearance of food To replace colour lost in processing. To satisfy consumer expectations. To give colour to food that would be colourless Synthetic Artificial Tartrazine - Yellow (E120) Red (E128) Green (E142) Amaranth - purply-red (E123) Soft drinks Sausages Sweets Blackcurrant products All made from coal tar Colourings are not permitted in fresh meat, fish, poultry, fruit, veg or baby food.

Preservatives E200-E299 ClassesExamplesUseOriginsFunctions NaturalSugar Salt Vinegar Alcohol Smoke Jam, sweets Bacon, pickles Pickles, chutney Fruit, cake Fish, meat, cheese Beet/cane Rock, sea Fermentation Burning wood Prevents spoilage by preventing microbial growth. Extend shelf life. Prevents food poisoning. Reduces waste. Greater variety foods available ArtificalSulphur dioxide (E220) Sorbic acid (E200) Diphenyl Sausages, fruit juice, dried fruit & veg. Soft fruit, fruit yoghurt, processed cheese. Citrus fruit, bananas Made in labs Not permitted in baby foods

Antioxidants E ClassesExamplesUseOriginsFunctions NaturalAscorbic acid Tocopherol (E306) Fruit drinks Vegetable oils Fruit & veg. Nuts & seeds Prevents oxidation where food is spoiled by reacting with oxygen ArtificialBHA (E320) BHT (E321) Stock cubes, cheese spread Chewing gum Made in lab BHA and BHT not permitted in baby food

Physical Conditioning agents E ClassesExamplesUseOriginFunction EmusifiersLecithin Alginates E Mayonnaise Hollandaise Ice cream Eggs, soya beans Sea weed To make permanent emulsions StabilisersCarageen Guar gum E412 Ice cream Confectionary Sea weed Guar plant To stabilise emulsions by thickening them Poly- phosphates Magnesium carbonate Salt- as anti- caking agent, Cake mixes LabTo prevent lumping Pectin E440Jams / jelliesfruit cell wallsTo set mixtures HumectantsSweetners sorbital and mannitol Confectionary and sweets Cakes/ buns LichenThey absorb water vapour from air and keep foods moist

Flavourings (No E numbers) ClassesExamplesUseOriginFunctions NaturalSugar Salt Spices Herbs Jam, tinned beans, cereals. Cheese, butter, convenience fds Meat products, sauces, stock cubes Cane, beet, fruit Sodium chloride Rock or sea Root, seeds and leaves of plants To add flavour to food To replace flavour lost in processing. To enhance food flavour ArtificialEthyl acetate Amyl acetate Benzaldehyde Maltol Rum flavour Pear flavour Cherry flavour Fresh baked smell Chemical rxn. heating acetic acid and ethyl alcohol Tree Bark Flavour Enhancers E Monosodium Glutamate E621 Chinese food, soup, sauces, stock cubes Glutamic acid an amino acid

Sweeteners E900-E999 ClassExamplesUseOriginFunctions Natural Fructose Sucrose Glucose syrup Tinned peas Biscuits, sweets, tinned fruit Tinned fruit, jelly Fruit Sugar beet & sugar cane Fruit & honey To sweeten food Artificial Aspartame E951 “Nutrasweet, Canderel” Saccharine E954 ‘Hermesetes’ Diet drinks Sweetener Diet drinks Sweetener Dipeptide (aspartic acid+ phenyalanine) Coal tar Used in low calorie / diabetic food & drinks Bulk Sweetners Sorbitol Mannitol E965 Diabetic food, sugar free food Sugar free gum, ice cream Lichens Sorbitol used in diabetic food as it does not need insulin

Nutritive additives Nutritive additives are nutrients added to food during manufacture The foods are then called fortified foods. Functions Replace nutrients lost in processing e.g. flour skimmed milk To increase nutritional value e.g. breakfast cereal To increase sales e.g. fruit juice To imitate another food e.g. butter/marg, meat /TVP

Advantages of additives Increase shelf life – preservatives Reduce risk of food poisoning – preservatives Prevent waste – preservatives Make food more appetising – colouring Improve taste – flavouring Improve texture – physical conditioning agents Increase nutritive value Provide wider variety of foods Ensure consistency of quality

Disadvantages of additives Allergies: migraine, hyperactivity, rashes e.g.tartrazine Little known about cumulative or combined effect of additives. Bulking agents can deceive consumers Some additives destroy nutrients e.g.sulphur dioxide destroys vit. B Sweetners can leave bitter aftertaste e.g. saccharine

Legal Control over use of additives in EU List of approved additives Approved additives have been well tested In EU every approved additive has E number (except flavourings) The E no. or name must be on labels Additives should not reduce nutritive value Cannot be used to disguise faults Must not be health hazard Must not mislead consumer

Legal Control over use of additives in EU Must be used in smallest possible effective quantity Colourings not allowed in fresh fruit, veg. meat, poultry, fish Preservatives and BHA, BHT and colourings not allowed in baby food. Sweeteners not permitted in food for infants or young children

Legal Control over use of additives in EU Additives are tested by the European Scientific Committee for Food (SCF) The SCF take advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) In Ireland the FSAI are responsible for enforcing the safe use of food additives

Contaminants Substances that enter food unintentionally or illegally at various stages of production which may cause harm. Pesticides: used in agriculture to prevent damage to crops. They include insecticides, herbicides, fungicides. Run off can contaminate water supply. Antibiotics: used for animals and poultry to cure diseases. Passed on to humans in milk or meat. Metals: from soil, water, containers cooking equipment e.g. Lead, cadmium

Contaminants Plastic chemicals from packaging Formaldehyde from treated paper packaging Foreign bodies; hair, glass, wire etc.. Other Chemicals: growth promoters, carcinogens from smoking and barbecuing, dioxins from burning hydrocarbons Micro-organisms

Effects of Contaminants PesticidesRespiratory problems. Heart and circulatory problems. Damage to nervous system. Cancer. AntibioticsBuild up resistance to antibiotics. Allergies develop. MetalsStomach cramps. Damage to liver, kidneys, immune system, nervous system. DioxinsCancer.

Contaminants Department of agriculture and food are responsible for production of safe food. Samples are testing and comparisons made with EU max permitted levels. People opt for organically grown food to avoid these contaminants.