ADDITIVES AND

PRESERVATIVES ; THEIR
USES AND FUNCTIONS
ISRAEL VICTOR MALUNGA – BSC/16/16
KUMBUKANI CHIKOSA-
 FOOD ADDITIVE
• Any substance or mixture of substances
other than the basic foodstuff, which is
present in food as a result of any aspect of
production, processing, storage or packaging
• Either naturally occurring or synthetically
made
FUNCTIONS OF FOOD ADDITIVES
• Maintaining product consistency
• Improving product nutrition value
• Maintaining palatability and wholeness
• Improving flavor and imparting desired colour
• Providing leavening or acidity/ alkalinity
CLASSFICATION OF FOOD ADDITIVES
• Direct food additives ; added to food for specific purpose in that food e.g
synthetic colour
• Indirect food additives ; those tha become part of the food in trace amounts
due to packaging , storage or other handling processes e.g antioxidants
• Various classes include
Antioxidants
Preservatives
Food colours
Elmusifiers etc
 PRESERVATIVES
• Type of food additives that is added to food to prolong shelf
life and keep products from being broken down by
microorganisms
ADVANTAGES OF FOOD ADDITIVES
• Some add and improve nutrition value of food
• Make food last longer
• Makes food to stay fresh for much longer
• Makes seasonal crops and fruits available throughout the
year
• Saves time
DISADVANTAGES OF FOOD ADDITIVES
• Can make food less nutritious as compared to the real
ingredient
• Some may have a toxic effect
• May be higher in calories
• Some may lead to health problems like high blood pressure
even cancer as well
• In Europe and other parts of the world , the E system developed by
the European Union provides the listing of the commonly used
additives
• The European union adopted directives which set the criteria by
which additives are assessed
• The European Scientific Committee oversees safety aganaist the
established criteria
• The Codex Alimentarius Commission Committee on food additives
and contaminants has developed an international numbering system
based on the E system.
• The E numbers are categorized as follows
E100-E199 (colors)
E200-E299 (preservatives)
E300-E399 (antioxidants,acidity regulators)
E400-E499 (thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers)
E500-E599 (acidity regulators, anticaking agents)
E600-E699 (flavor enhancers)
E900-E999 (surface coating agents , gases , sweeteners)
E1000-E1999 (additional chemicals)
ANTIOXIDANTS
• Chemical additive which when added to food retards or prevents
oxidative deterioration of food regardless of the mechanism
• For example ascorbic acid was employed to prevent enzymatic
browning of the cut surfaces of fruits and vegtables.
PRESERVATIVES
• Substances added to food to retard , inhibit or arrest the activity of
microorganisms hence prevents spoilage and assures safety of many
foods
• Sulphur dioxide is one of the most used preservative
- it inhibits certain enzyme catalyzed reactions , notably enzymic
browning
• Some common preservatives are benzoic acid and acetic acid
FOOD COLOURS
• Substances used to correct colour loss due to food processing and it is
restricted towards specific food items only.
• Carotenoids are the mostly used
• For example tartrazine is used in pudding powders , confectionaries
and candies , ice creams and pop drinks
FLAVOURING AGENTS
• Enhance the aroma or correct flavor losses in food .
• Natural flavours can either be obtained from vegtables or animal raw
materials
EMULSFYING AND STABILIZING
AGENTS
• Substances capable of facilitating a uniform dispersion of oils and fats
in aqeous media.
• Gelatin , pectin and whey can be examples of the emulsifying agents
• And they can be applied in foods such as jams and dairy products
SWEETENING AGENTS
• Are added to food for flavouring
• Sweeteners other than sugar are added to keep food energy low or
because they have beneficial effects for diabetes mellitus and tooth
decay and diarrhea
ANTI-CAKING AGENTS
• Anhydrous substance that can pick up moisture without themselves
becoming wet and they are added to products such as table salt and
hence preventing lumping of compounds
• Anticaking compounds include sodium , potassium and calcium
hexacyanoferrate (II) , calcium and magnesium silicate etc
SEQUESTRANTS
• Substances that form complex with transition metal ions like copper ,
iron , cobalt and nickel.
• Many natural substances are employed as celating agents in the food
industry such as polycarboxylic acids , polyphosphoric acids etc and
many metals exists in natural state
• Examples include magnesium in chorophyll and iron in the porphyrin
ring of hemoglobin
• When these ions by hydrolytic or other degradative reactions , they
are free to participate in reactions that lead to turbidity and flavor
changes in food
BUFFERING AGENTS (ACIDS ,BASES
AND SALTS)
• Materials used to counter acidic and alkaline changes during storage
or processing of food , thus improving flavor and stability of foods.
ACIDS
• Participates in buffering system in the food
• Acid salts used in chemical leavening system
• In food preservation e.g sorbic acid and benzoic acid
• They have also made a contribution in terms of flavor of their sour
taste
BASES
• The majority are involved in buffering and pH adjustments
• Carbon dioxide evolution
• Enhancement of colour and flavor
• Solubilization of proteins
SALTS IN DIARY FOODS
• They are used extensively in processed cheese to promote uniform ,
smooth texture
• They are sometimes called emulsifying salts because of their ability to
aid dispersion of fat
• Examples of salts used are mono- , di- and trisodium phosphate ,
dipottasium phosphate etc
PHOSPHATES AND WATER BINDING IN
ANIMAL TISSUES
• Addition of appropriate phosphates increases the water holding
capacity of raw and cooked meat
• Sodium tripolyphosphate is the most common phosphate added to
prossesed meat and sea foods
ANTI-FOAMING AGENTS
• Reduce foaming on heating , slow down deteoriative changes
ENZYMES
• Mainly used in industry to split carbohydrates , proteins , lipids and
can also be used in cheese and bread production
LEAVENING AGENTS
• Composed of compounds that react to release a dough or batter
under appropriate conditions of moisture and temperature.
• Found in self-rising flours , prepared baking mixes or baking powders
and carbon dioxide is the only gas generated which is derived from
carbonate and biocarbonate salt.
BLEACHING AGENTS
• Used to whiten foods such as wheat flour and cheese e.g peroxides
• It involves the removal of yellow carotenoids by oxidation and hence
improving the quality of the food
• Lipoxygenase enzyme also has an efficient bleaching activity
HUMECTANTS
• Additives for retaining food moisture and softness and inhibiting
crystallization
• They are often required in a confectionary product.
• Some of the humectacts are polyols such as glycerol, mannitol and
sorbitol
THICKENERS
• Substances which when added to the mixture , increase its viscocity
without substantially modifying its other properties
• They also alter the texture of a food
• For example carrageen which is used as a thickener in ice creams and
low-calorie jellies
PROPELLANT
• Used in fluid products that are in form of liquids , foams or sprays
from pressurized aerosol containers
• Since it comes into intimate contact with food , it then becomes an
additive
• The principal propellants for dispensing foods are nitrous oxide and
carbon dioxide due to their solubility in water and their expansion
during dispensing assists in the formation of the spray on foam
• Nitrogen because of its low solubility in water and fats , is udes to
dispense liquid streams in which foaming is avoided e.g edible oils ,
syrups