Food Additives

Food Additives

Question. Food additives.
Answer.

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste, appearance, or other qualities. Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling (with vinegar), salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as with wines. With the advent of processed foods in the second half of the twentieth century, many more additives have been introduced, of both natural and artificial origin. Food additives also include substances that may be introduced to food indirectly (called “indirect additives”) in the manufacturing process, through packaging, or during storage or transport.

Food Additives: Types, Uses, and Safety

Categories

Food additives can be divided into several groups, although there is some overlap because some additives exert more than one effect. For example, salt is both a preservative as well as a flavor.

Food coloring.

Colorings are added to food to replace colors lost during preparation or to make food look more attractive.

Fortifying agents.

Vitamins, minerals, and dietary supplements to increase the nutritional value

Color retention agents.

In contrast to colorings, color retention agents are used to preserve a food’s existing color.

Emulsifiers.

Types of Food Additives: Preservatives, Colorants, and Flavors

Emulsifiers allow water and oils to remain mixed together in an emulsion, as in mayonnaise, ice cream, and homogenized milk.

Flavors.

Flavors are additives that give food a particular taste or smell, and may be derived from natural ingredients or created artificially.

In contrast to colorings, color retention agents are used to preserve a food’s existing color.

Flavor enhancers.

Natural vs. Artificial Food Additives: A Comparative Study

Flavor enhancers enhance a food’s existing flavors. A popular example is monosodium glutamate. Some flavor enhancers have their own flavors that are independent of the food.