Year 8 Food Technology

WHAT ARE FOOD ADDITIVES?

Additives are substances added to food but not normally consumed as food themselves.
They are used in processed foods in relatively small quantities. Many substances used as additives also
occur naturally, such as Vitamin C or ascorbic acid (300) in fruit or lecithin (322) in egg yolk.
Just as food additives are chemical substances, so are all the foods to which they are added. Foods are
made up of many thousands of chemical substances.
The human body cannot distinguish between a chemical naturally
present in food and that same chemical present as an additive.
What are food additives used for?
There are sound reasons for the use of food additives.
They can be used to:

 Provide foods for special dietary needs. For example, aspartame

– an artificial sweetening substance (951) may be used to replace sugar in low kilojoule foods.
 Restore or improve the taste or appearance of a processed food. For example, lecithin-emulsifier
(322) – may be added to margarine to help maintain texture; improve keeping qualities or stability
of a food. For example sorbitol-humectant (420) – may be added to mixed dried fruit to maintain
the moisture and softness of the fruit.
 Preserve food when this is the most practical way of extending storage life. For example Sulphur
dioxide – preservative (220) – is added to some meat products such as sausage meat to prevent
microbial growth.

LOOKING AT THE LABEL ACTIVITY

This is an example of an ingredient list which might appear on a packaged meat and vegetable meal:
Ingredients – Pork, wheat flour, capsicum, pineapple, green beans, sweet corn, sugar, tomato paste,
pineapple concentrate, thickener (1422), food acids (270), (260), soy sauce, salt, natural flavours, vegetable
gum (415), water added.
1. With the help of the additive list provided, look up the numbers to identify the additives by name.
acetylated distarch adipte, lactic acid, acetic acid, xanthan guma
2. Select a package – list the ingredients on your package, underlining the additives.
Cadbury marvellous creations pascal lolly bag choc block, Full Cream Milk, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa
Mass,,Milk Solids, Beanies (Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa But,ter, Milk Solids, Rice Starch, Glazing Agents
(414,, 904, 903, 901), Spirulina Extract, Emulsifier (S,unflower Lecithin), Fruit and Vegetable Juice Conce.
acacia, shellac bleached, camauba wax, beeswax white.
3. Choose 2 of the additives and write the information about it
414 and 904
 414 being acacia gum or gum Arabic, is a sap from the acacia tree, this is used in the food industry
as a edible glue, it also has multiple health benefits. 904 is Shellac, a resin secreted by the female lac
bug on trees in India and Asia, it is used for the cosmetic part of the food industry, for a glaze.
4. Is there a health warning for your additive?
According to Is Shellac Food Safe? Safety Regulations, Risks, and Alternatives | CraftyCedar additive 904, shellac,
wont have many health warnings unless a high amount is consumed.