Food additives

Types of food additives

1. Compiled by Dr.Mrs. Vandana Mahajani 1

2. A food additive is defined as any substance or mixture of
substances, other than base foodstuff, which is present
in the food as a result of any aspect of production,
processing, storage or packing.
An expert committee on Food Additives made up of
representatives of FAO and WHO has defined food
additives as nonnutritive substances added intentionally to
food , generally in small quantities , to improve its
appearance flavour texture or storage properties. This
definition excludes substances added primarily for their
nutritive value, such as vitamins and minerals.
Food additive
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3. There are two types of additives:
•Intentional additives: Those which are added with the
purpose of increasing or improving or simply changing the
food in such a way as to make it better.
•Unintentional additives: These may accidentally enter
food as a result of their use in agricultural production,
raising animals, food processing or packing, are not
additives in the technical sense of the term but they are
food contaminants.
Types of additives
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4. NEED FOR FOOD ADDITIVES
They are used for a number of reasons:
•To provide protection against food spoilage during
storage, transportation, distribution or processing.
•The convenience food revolution would not have been
possible without the use of food additive. The use of
ready –to-cook, instant, heat and serve foods has gone
up. They make up for nearly 60% of the food that the
Americans buy. Such foods result in a large amount of
saving of time and effort.
•“Fortified” and “enriched” foods are possible to make
today because of food additives. Vitamins and minerals
are important to maintain good health. Potassium Iodide
added to common salt, bread enriched with B –complex
are examples of food helping in maintaining good
nutrition.
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5. •Preservatives in the form of additives help in
safeguarding the food against microbial decomposition
due to presence of moisture.
•Rancidity in foods containing fats can also be
prevented.
•Additives improve the colour of the food. Even those
colours that are not available in nature are available
now with the help of chemicals.
•They improve the flavour of the foods.
•They impart firmness to the foods and retard
chemical reaction in the foods.
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6. 1. Antioxidants
An antioxidants a substance added to fats and fat
containing substances to retard oxidation and
thereby prolong their wholesomeness, palatability
and sometimes keeping time
They should not contribute to objectionable odour,
flavour or colour to the fat
Examples of antioxidants are:
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)
Propyl Gallate (PG)
Butylated Hydrooxytoluene ( BHT)
Tertiary butyl hydroquonine (TBHQ)
Naturally occurring substances are Tocopherols,
they are expensive and thus not used as additives
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7. 2. Colouring agents
These include colour stabilizers, colour fixatives, colour
retention agents,etc
Originally many colour additives were natural pigments
or dyes
Spinach juice , grass, marigold flower, seed coat of
lipstick pod plant ,saffron, turmeric and caramel have
been used as natural colouring agents
Synthetic colour include coal tar dyes, iron oxide (for
redness) titanium dioxide (for whiteness)
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8. 3. Curing agents
These are used to preserve (cure) meats , give
them desirable colour and flavour, discourage
growth of microorganisms and prevent toxin
formation
For egSodium nitrite .
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9. 4. Emulsions
Emulsifiers are a group of substances used to
obtain a stable mixture of liquids that otherwise
would not mix or would separate quickly. They also
stabilize gas-in –solid and gas –in –liquid mixtures
They are widely used in dairy and confectionary
products salad dressings, margarine and shortenings
Lecithin found in milk and soya bean is the most
commonly used emulsifiers
The synthetic ones are glycol monostearate,
sorbitan monostearate and polysorbates
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10. 5. Flavour and flavour enhancers
There are about 2,100 flavour and are the
largest class of food additives
Natural flavouring substances are herbs ,spices,
roots, essences and essential oils
The agents responsible for flavour are esters,
aldehydes, ketones, alcohols and ethers
Monosodium glutamate or MSG is the most
commonly used flavour enhancer and is used in
Japanese and Chinese foods
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11. 6. Flour improvers.
These are bleaching and maturing agents used to
bleach and mature the flour
Agent used for flour bleaching is benzoyle
peroxide
Materials used for both leaching and improving are
chlorine gas , chlorine dioxide, nitrocyle chloride
nitrogen di and tetra oxides
Oxidizing agents used only for dough improvement
are potassium bromate, potassium iodate , calcium
iodate, and calcium peroxide
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12. 7. Leavening agents
Leavening agents produce light and fluffy baked
products
Originally yeast was used for this purpose
Today baking powder is used for this purpose
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13. 8. Nutrient supplements
Nutrient supplements replace the values lost in
processing and storage, or ensure higher nutritional
value than what nature may have provided
Thiamine, nicotinic acid, iron and calcium are added
to the flour
Vitamin A and D is added to fats
Cereals, baby foods and fruit juices are fortified
with vitamins
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14. 9. Nonnutritive sweeteners
Sucrose is an ideal sweetener in many ways but for
its high calorie content
The first synthetic sweetening agent used was
saccharin, but it leaves a bitter after taste
Today cyclamates are used a sweetening agents in
most soft drinks
Nonnutritive sweetening agents are also available
now and use din tobacco products, confectionaries
and beverages
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15. 10. ph control agents
These include acids alkalis and buffers
They not only control the acid and the alkali level
but also food properties like flavor, texture,
cooking qualities etc.
1 Acetic acid and sodium acetate mixture
2 Citric acid and sodium citrate mixture
These 2 act as buffers in food which help to resist
the change of pH on addition of acids and alkalies
to foods
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16. 11. Preservatives
Preservatives are used to inhibit, retard or arrest
the growth of microorganisms
Sodium chloride, sugar, sulphur dioxide, nitrate
and nitrite, sorbic acid, acetic acid are widely used
as preservatives
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17. 12. Stabilizers and thickeners
These substances inhibit crystallization, stabilize
emulsions and foams, reduce the thickness of icings
on backed products and enhance flavours
Substances used as stabilizers are gum, agar,
starch and its derivatives
Gravies, pie fillings , cake toppings, chocolate milk
drinks, jellies, puddings and salad dressings are
among the many food that contain stabilizers and
thickeners
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18. •Food Science and Nutrition by Sunetra Roday
•Nutrition for food service professional by Drummond
•Catering Science by O.P.G. Kilgns
•Food microbiology by Frazier and Woltoft
REFERENCES
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