FOOD ADDITIVES

Source: https://food.chemlinked.com/news/food-news/japan-revised-list-of-existing-food-additives-and-food-additive-standards
Learning Objectives
To understand what additives are.
To understand the role of additives in
food production.
To know what the beneficial and
detrimental effects of additives are.
 What are food additives?
Food additives are synthetic or natural
substances which are added to food in small
quantities.

Source: https://olstad4203.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/food-additives/
 The Functions of Food Additives
Preventing spoilage and prolonging a food’s
shelf life
Improving or enhancing a food’s flavour or
appearance
Helping the processing and preparation of food
and ensuring a consistent quality of food
Restoring the food’s original characteristics
after processing
Maintaining or increasing the food’s nutritional
value
Categories of Food Additives
Nutritionaladditives
Processing agents
Preservatives
Sensory agents

Source: https://www.ewg.org/research/ewg-s-dirty-dozen-guide-food-additives/food-additive-watch-list
Nutritional Additives
Nutritional additives are used for the
purpose of restoring nutrients lost or
degraded during production, enriching
certain foods in order to correct dietary
deficiencies, or adding nutrients to food
substitutes.
Examples of Nutritional
Additives
Iodine was added to table salt for the
prevention of goitre
Vitamins A and D are added to dairy and
cereal products
Vitamin B is added to flour, cereals, baked
goods, and pasta
Vitamin C is added to fruit beverages,
cereals, dairy products, and confectioneries
Minerals such as calcium and iron
Processing Agents
Processing agents are added to foods in
order to aid in processing or to maintain
the desired consistency of the product.
 Examples of Processing
Agents
1. Emulsifiers
 are used to maintain a
uniform dispersion of one
liquid in another, such as
oil in water
 example: lecithin
 used in ice cream,
mayonnaise, bakery
products Source: https://www.velonainc.com/product-page/soy-lecithin-oil-organic-
unbleached-fluid-liquid-emulsifier-velona
2. Stabilizers and thickeners
 act as thickening or gelling
agents that increase the
viscosity of the final product
 example: starches, pectin,
gelatin, carrageenan, gums
(arabic, guar, locust bean)
 used in dressings, frozen
desserts, confections,
pudding mixes, jams and
jellies
3. Chelating or sequestering agents
 protect food products from many enzymatic
reactions that promote deterioration during
processing and storage
 example: ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
(EDTA)
 used in dressings, mayonnaise, sauces, dried
bananas

4. Bleaching agents
 example: benzoyl peroxide
 used in flour
5. Anticaking
 are added to keep powder from caking or
sticking
 example: sodium aluminosilicate, sodium
bicarbonate, calcium silicate
 used in salt, milk powder

6. Humectants
 are added to prevent food from drying out
 example: glycerol
 used in marshmallows, soft candies, chewing
gum
7. Leavening agents
 are added to produce light fluffy baked
goods
 example: yeast, baking powder, baking soda
 used in bakery products

8. Acid regulators
 are used to change or control the acidity and
alkalinity of foods
 example: citric acid, lactic acid
 used in certain cheeses, confections, jams
and jellies
Preservatives
The objective
to prevent the growth of microorganisms
to prevent chemical reaction that we don’t
want to happen in the food
to keep the food fresh

Source: https://www.assignmentpoint.com/science/chemistry/preservative.html
Preservatives
are substances added to food products or
to organic solutions to prevent
decomposition due to chemical change or
bacterial action.
are classified into two main groups:
antioxidants and antimicrobials
 Antioxidants
Antioxidants Function Typical Food
Antioxidants Product
butylated
are compounds hydroxyanisole
(BHA) keeps foods
that from •Butter
butylated changing •Meat
delay or prevent hydroxytoluene flavor and •Baked goods
the deterioratio (BHT) color and •Cereals
tertiary helps prevent •Snack foods
n butylhydroquinone them from •Dehydrated
of foods by (TBHQ) developing an
odor
potatoes
tocopherols
oxidative ascorbic acid
mechanisms inhibit
enzyme- •Fruits
citric acid
catalyzed •Vegetables
oxidation
 Antimicrobials
Antimicrobials inhibit the growth of spoilage
and pathogenic microorganisms in food
Antimicrobials are most often used with
other preservation techniques

Source: https://www.consumer.org.hk/ws_en/news/press/492/fruit-juices.html

Source: https://suppversity.blogspot.com/2017/04/is-meat-bad-for-us-or-rather-
Source: https://food.detik.com/info-sehat/d-3119031/pengawet-makanan- products.html
dalam-keju-terbukti-bisa-hambat-pertumbuhan-sel-tumor
 Antimicrobials Function Typical Food Product
Acetic acid
Benzoic acid disrupts cell membrane products with a low pH
function (bacteria, yeasts, (acidic drinks like sodas
Propionic acid some molds) and fruit juices)
Sorbic acid

•inhibit the bacterium

Clostridium botulinum ham, bacon and luncheon
Nitrates, nitrites
•impart the reddish colour meat
characteristic of meats

to control the growth of dried fruits, fruit juices,

Sulfur dioxide, sulfites
spoilage microorganisms and wines
disrupts cell membrane
function (gram-positive processed cheese, meats,
Nisin
bacteria, lactic acid- and beverages
producing bacteria)
binds sterol groups in
cheeses, sour cream and
Natamycin fungal cell membrane
yogurt
(molds, yeasts)
Methods of Preservation
1. Refrigeration
2. Freezing
3. Canning
4. Pasteurization
5. Blanching
6. Dehydration or drying
7. Fermentation and pickling
8. Chemical preservation
9. Food irradiation
 Sensory Agents
1. Colorants

2. Flavourings

3. Sweeteners Source: https://www.openpr.com/news/1847632/flavouring-agents-market-size-

share-development-by-2024

Source: https://www.roxyandrich.com/food-coloring/water-soluble-food-colouring
Source: https://www.foodbeverageinsider.com/sweeteners/global-sugar-sweetener-market
Colorants
To give more color to the food so it will
increase our appetite.
To restore the original color of the food that
might be loss in the food processing
 Colorants
 Colorants used as food additives are
classified as natural or synthetic

Natural colorants
are derived from
Synthetic colorants
plant, animal,
are primarily
and mineral
petroleum-based
sources
chemical compounds
Natural Colorants
 Chemical Color Plant Source Pigment Products
Class
pelargonidin 3- beverages, confections,
red strawberry
glucoside* fruit products
anthocyanins
malvidin 3-
blue grape beverages
glucoside*
dairy products,
betacyanins red beetroot betanin
desserts, icings
yellow
dairy products,
/ annatto bixin
margarine
orange
rice dishes, bakery
yellow saffron crocin
products
red /
carotenoids paprika capsanthin soups, sauces
orange
bakery products,
orange carrot beta-carotene
confections
mushroom
sauces, soups,
red (Cantharellus canthaxanthin
dressings
cinnabarinus)
orange
dairy products,
Synthetic Colorants
 Examples of synthetic colorants
Common Name Code Color Products

FD&C beverages, puddings, ice cream,

Fast green FCF Green
green no. 3 sherbet, confections
Brilliant blue E133/FD&C beverages, confections, icings,
Blue-green
FCF blue no. 1 syrups, dairy products
Sunset yellow E110/FD&C bakery products, ice cream,
Yellow
FCF yellow no. 6 sauces, cereals, beverages
E132/FD&C confections, ice cream, bakery
Indigo carmine Blue
blue no. 2 products
E102/FD&C beverages, cereals, bakery
Tartrazine Yellow
yellow no. 5 products, ice cream, sauces
E127/FD&C
Erythrosine red maraschino cherries
red No. 3
E129/FD&C gelatin, puddings, dairy products,
Allura red Red
red No.40 confections, beverages
 Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages Disadvantages
• gives a specific taste and smell
that we don’t want
• healthier to consume
Natural colorings • easily broken by heat
• the color is not strong enough
• limited variety of colors
• cheaper
• easy to apply
• the color is strong
Artificial colorings • can be dangerous to our health
• many variety of colors
• not easily broken by
heat
Flavourings
 The objective
to strengthen the natural flavour of the food,
to restore the flavour of the food that might
be loss during the process,
To give a certain scent or flavour to the food.

Source: https://shopee.ph/McCormick-Flavoring-20ml-i.108103653.1899933645 Source: https://iasp.org/2019/09/02/the-spice-of-life/

 Flavourings
 flavourings used as food additives are
classified as natural or synthetic

Natural flavourings
are derived or
extracted from Artificial flavourings are
plants, spices, herbs, mixtures of synthetic
animals, or microbial compounds that may be
fermentations chemically identical to
natural flavourings
Natural flavourings
Artificial flavourings
octyl acetate (orange flavour)
ethyl butirate (pineapple flavour)
amyl acetate (banana flavour)
amyl valerate (apple flavour)
vanilin (vanilla flavour)
methyl anthranilate (grape flavour)
Flavour Enhancers
are compounds that are added to a food in
order to supplement or enhance its own
natural flavour
Example: •amino acid L-glutamate
•monosodium glutamate
(MSG)
•5′-ribonucleotides
•inosine monophosphate
(IMP)
•guanosine monophosphate
(GMP)
•yeast extract
•hydrolyzed vegetable
protein
Sweeteners
Nutritive sweeteners

provides energy
in the form of
carbohydrates
Nonnutritive sweeteners

•synthetic compounds
•provide few or no calories
or nutrients
•have significantly greater
sweetening power
 E Numbers
100-199 Colours
are number codes 200-299 Preservatives
for food additives 300-399 Antioxidants and acidity
that have been regulators
400-499 Thickeners, stabilisers
assessed for use and emulsifiers
within the 500-599 pH regulators and anti-
caking agents
European Union
600-699 Flavour enhancers
(E stands for 700-799 Antibiotics
European) 900-999 Miscellaneous
1100-1599 Additional chemicals
BPOM (Badan Pengawas Obat dan
Makanan)
For our safety, we need to pay attention
to:
a. is there a label legally issued by Depkes
or BPOM,
b. the expired date,
c. the packaging, whether it is broken or
smelly or change,
d. whether it can cause allergy or not.
 Let’s find out

Source: https://ecobabyco.co.za/additives-and-preservatives-to-avoid-in-kids-snacks/