TOPIC-FOOD ADDITIVES

LEARNING OBJECTIVES – At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to; 1. Define food
additives. 2. State the requirements of food additives.

3. Mention 5 types of food additives.

Keywords: Additives, food, requirements and emulsifiers.

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavour, taste, appearance, colour as well as
aroma. Manufactured foods often consist certain food additives for the following reasons:

1. To produce new food products, e.g. snacks and confectionery in novelty shapes and colours
2. To provide easy-to-prepare convenience foods in a society that is busy and spends less in the
kitchen than in the past
3. To produce a uniform food during large scale manufacture.
4. To improve or enhance the flavour, colour, and texture of a food.
5. To improve their keeping qualities.

Requirements of food additives

1. It must not mislead the consumer about the quality or a nature of a food
2. It must only be used in the minimum quantity required for it to work
3. It must be effective in its intended use
4. It must be safe to use.
5. It should, where possible, be of nutritional value of the body.

Types of additives

Emulsifiers and stabilizers are used to ensure that food products remain in a good stable condition for a
certain period of time afte4r they are manufactured.

Acids are used to develop an acid flavour in sweets, for setting jam, and in baking powder.

Acidity regulators are used to control how acid or alkaline a food is.

Non-stick agents are used to prevent powdery foods from sticking together, e.g. magnesium carbonate
is used in salt.

Colourings natural foods colours are chemical produced.

Flavours and sweetners: the flavour of a food product is an important factor in its success. The mostly
commonly widely used sources of food flavours are herbs, roots. Fruits, seeds, berries, barks.

Many flavours are extracted from oils, e.g. peppermint, clove, citrus oils.

Flavour enhancers: e.g. monosodium glutamate, are used to bring out the flavour of an ingredient of
the food, e.g. meat, cheese. Sweeteners such as saccharine are often added to foods instead of sucrose
because they are more concentrated and produce desired sweetener at a low cost.
Nutrients: during the processing of some foods e.g. cereals, nutrient are lost, and may be replaced by
the manufacturer. This is called restoration. Nutrient may also be added to foods to enrich or fortify
them e.g vitamin A and D are added to margarine.

Foaming agents are used to ensure that bubbles are evenly distributed, e.g. in ice cream.

Glazing agents give a shiny outer layer, e.g. to sweets.

Humectants stop foods drying out, e.g. in soft centres of chocolates.

Squesterants stop reactants such as off flavours in fruits, and discoloration of foods.

Modified starch is added to dry foods such as soups and baby foods to add bulk and enable liquid to be
incorporated easily.

Gelling agents enhance texture, e.g. in soya, milk.

Propellants are gases the are used to make aerosols work, e.g. for decorating cream.

Thickeners improve the texture and mouthfeel e.g. in yogurts.