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ADDITIVES, DO WE NEED THEM?
Consumer demand and developments in food science and technology have
led to a more widespread and varied use of food additives. As a result,
we enjoy an affordable, high quality, and wholesome food supply. The
Egyptians used them. The Greeks too. And today we are still using them.
Food additives, in the widest sense, are any substance added to food
to enhance the safety, nutritional value, and/or appeal of the product.
Additives preserve, flavour, blend, thicken, and colour foods. They
keep bread mould-free, stop salad dressings from separating, cure meats,
and give margarine that warm yellow colour. Additives include baking
powder in cake mixes and gelling agents in jams. They maintain product
consistency and quality and reduce nutritional deficiencies. The consumer
has come to rely on the many technological, aesthetic, and convenience
benefits that additives provide in food.
Where do they come from?
Additives are derived from various sources. They come from vegetable
origins, for example thickening agents extracted from seeds, fruit,
and seaweeds, or acidulants such as tartaric acid from fruit. Or they
are from nature-identical products made by synthesis or biosynthesis;
this category includes antioxidants such as ascorbic acid in fruit and
tocopherol in vegetable oils, and colours such as carotenoids found
in many fruits and vegetables.
Additives obtained by modifying natural substances are emulsifiers (derived
from edible oils and organic acids) or thickening agents such as modified
starches and modified cellulose. There are also man-made additives:
antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), colours (for example,
indigotin and quinoline yellow), and sweeteners such as saccharin.
More information
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