Food Additives

What is a food additive? In its broadest sense, a food additive is any substance added to food.

Any substance used in the: production, processing, treatment, packaging, transportation, or storage of food.

Additives are not a new idea

Food ingredients have been used for many years to: preserve, flavor, blend, thicken and color foods

Food and color additives are strictly studied, regulated and monitored. Federal regulations require evidence that each substance is safe at its intended level of use before it may be added to foods. All additives are subject to ongoing safety review as scientific understanding and methods of testing continue to improve.

What agency do you think is in charge of these regulations?

Right, the FDA has the primary legal responsibility for determining food additives’ safe use.

3 Reasons that ingredients are added to food: 1)To Maintain or Improve Safety and Freshness. They slow spoilage caused by yeasts, molds and bacteria They help control contamination that causes foodborne illness They prevent fats and oils from becoming rancid and cut fruits from turning brown

2) To Improve or Maintain Nutritional Value: Vitamins and Minerals may be added to replace those lost in processing (enrichment) Nutrients that may be lacking in the diet may be added (fortification)

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.

Spices

Flavorings

Natural and Artificial Sweetners

Leavening Agents

Excluded from this definition Group I: Additives that were approved by the FDA or USDA before the law about additive approval went into effect (1958). An example is sodium nitrite in deli meats. Group II: GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) ingredients—these additives have a history of use in food before 1958 or extensive scientific evidence that they are safe. Examples are salt, sugar, vitamins, and spices.

Direct food additives Added to food for a specific purpose in that food. Example: Xanthan gum is added to salad dressings, chocolate milk, and puddings to impart a creamy consistency. Direct additives are identified on the label of foods

Indirect food additives Indirect food additives become part of the food in trace amounts due to the foods’ packaging, storage or other handling. Bht in cereal packaging

Color additives A color additive is any dye, pigment or substance which when added or applied to a food, drug or cosmetic, or to the human body, is capable (alone or through reactions with other substances) of imparting color. FDA is responsible for regulating all color additives to ensure that foods containing color additives are safe to eat, contain only approved ingredients and are accurately labeled.

Why add color? to offset color loss due to exposure to light, air, temperature extremes, moisture and storage conditions to correct natural variations in color to enhance colors that occur naturally to provide color to colorless and “fun” foods

Certified colors synthetically produced(or human made) and used widely because they impart an intense, uniform color, are less expensive, and blend more easily to create a variety of hues There are nine certified color additives approved for use in the United States (e.g., FD&C Yellow No. 6. See chart for complete list.).

Natural colors derived from natural sources such as vegetables, minerals or animals Exempt from certification more expensive than certified colors and may add unintended flavors to foods. Examples of exempt colors include annatto extract (yellow), dehydrated beets (bluish- red to brown), caramel (yellow to tan), beta- carotene (yellow to orange) and grape skin extract (red, green).

How Are Additives Approved for Use in Foods? Today, food and color additives are more strictly studied, regulated and monitored than at any other time in history First, a manufacturer or other sponsor must petition FDA for it’s approval. These petitions must provide evidence that the substance is safe for the ways in which it will be used

When evaluating additives safety, FDA considers: 1) the composition and properties of the substance 2) the amount that would typically be consumed 3) immediate and long-term health effects 4) various other safety factors

Because of inherent limitations of science, FDA can never be absolutely certain of the absence of any risk from the use of any substance. Therefore, FDA must determine — based on the best science available — if there is a reasonable certainty of no harm to consumers when an additive is used as proposed.

Some colors have been blamed for causing ADHD in children. This is a controversial subject. Some colors which were once approved have since been removed from the market.

If an additive is approved, FDA issues regulations that may include the types of foods in which it can be used, the maximum amounts to be used, and how it should be identified on food labels.

X/100 = SAFE FOR CONSUMPTION If an additive has an element of risk, the FDA only allows levels that are 100 times below the level at which risk is known to be zero

Ongoing studies The FDA then continually monitors the products’ use to ensure that no safety concerns arise. If safety concerns do arise, federal authorities may prohibit its use or conduct further studies to determine if the use can still be considered safe.

“Good Manufacturing Practices” Regulations known as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) limit the amount of food ingredients used in foods to the amount necessary to achieve the desired effect.

Additives may not be used : In quantities larger than those necessary to achieve the desired effects To disguise faulty products To deceive the customer When they significantly destroy nutrients

So as you see, additives can be safe and are regulated. However, some have not been in use long enough to observe long term effects. And the more additives in a food, the more likely it is that it contains less real food.