Food additives 

are substances added to food to preserve flavour or enhance its taste,

appearance, or other qualities. Some additives have been used for centuries;
for example, preserving food by pickling (with vinegar), salting, as with bacon,
preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as with wines. With the advent of
processed foods in the second half of the twentieth century, many more
additives have been introduced, of both natural and artificial origin.

What Is a Food Additive?

In its broadest sense, a food additive is any substance added to food. Legally,

the term refers to “any substance the intended use of which results or may
reasonably be expected to result — directly or indirectly — in its becoming a
component or otherwise affecting the characteristics of any food.”

This definition includes any substance used in the production, processing,

treatment, packaging, transportation or storage of food. The purpose of the
legal definition, however, is to impose a premarket approval requirement.

Direct food additives are those that are added to a food for a specific purpose
in that food. For example, xanthan gum — used in salad dressings, chocolate
milk, bakery fillings, puddings and other foods to add texture — is a direct
additive. Most direct additives are identified on the ingredient label of foods.

Indirect food additives are those that become part of the food in trace amounts
due to its packaging, storage or other handling. For instance, minute amounts
of packaging substances may find their way into foods during storage.

Examples of Food Additives

There are many food additives that are used as a preservative, such as
ascorbic acid, potassium sorbate, sodium nitrite, and calcium sorbate. These
 food additives can prevent oxidation of fats, which cause an off-flavour to
develop; prevent the growth of microbes by changing the acidity, and prevent
other changes in flavour. Preservative-type food additives can be found in
anything from canned fruits and vegetables to bread and meats.
Nutrients are frequently added to food, such as adding iron and thiamine into
flour. Sometimes these nutrients are even mandated by law to be added.
Since most nutrients are removed from flour in the processing, the
government requires producers to add many of the nutrients back into the
flour. Other times nutrients are added simply to increase the nutritional value
of the product.

Here are some different types of food additives:

 Preservatives: ascorbic acid, calcium sorbate, and sodium nitrite

 Color additives: fruit and vegetable juices, yellow 5, and beta-carotene

 Flavors and spices: ‘real’ vanilla or ‘artificial’ vanilla

 Flavor enhancers: MSG and yeast

 Emulsifiers: soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides

 Stabilizers and thickening agents: whey, guar gum, and gelatin

This is not a comprehensive list of all approved food additives, just an
example of the uses of some of the food additives you may see on an
ingredients list.

The list of Food Additives is longer but we are covering only those which are
most common and are in our syllabus. Which are:-
 Preservatives

 Anti-Oxidants

 Sweeteners

 Food Colourings
 Flavourings

 Stabilisers & Emulsifiers

Preservatives
 
Preservative, in foods, any of numerous chemical additives used to prevent or
retard spoilage caused by chemical changes, e.g., oxidation or the growth of
mould. Along with emulsifying and stabilizing agents, preservatives also help
to maintain freshness of appearance and consistency.
Natural Food Preservatives:
Sugar and salt are the earliest natural food preservatives that very efficiently
drop the growth of bacteria in food. To preserve meat and fish, salt is still used
as a natural food preservative. Alcohol and Vinegar are also common food
preservatives.
Examples of chemical food preservatives are:
 Benzoates (such as sodium benzoate, benzoic acid)

 Nitrites (such as sodium nitrite)

 Sulphites (such as sulphur dioxide)

 Sorbates (such as sodium sorbate, potassium sorbate.

Anti-oxidants
 
Oxidation is a real problem for food products. Oxidation, for example, causes
raw apples and potatoes go brown, but this can be prevented in the kitchen by
adding lemon juice. It’s very effective because lemon juice contains a
very strong antioxidant – ascorbic acid or vitamin C (E300). By preventing or
slowing down the oxidation process in foods, waste through spoilage is
reduced.
 Antioxidants are used as food additives to preserve food for a longer period of
time. Antioxidants act as oxygen scavengers as the presence of oxygen in the
food helps the bacteria to grow that ultimately harm the food.

Antioxidants Food Additives List (No need to memorise the entire list just a
few names would be enough for exams and that’s too without codes given in
left)
E300 – Ascorbic acid
E301 – Sodium ascorbate
E302 – Calcium ascorbate
E304 – Fatty acid esters of ascorbic acid
E306 – Tocopherols
E307 – Alpha-tocopherol
E308 – Gamma-tocopherol
E309 – Delta-tocopherol
E310 – Propyl gallate
E311 – Octyl gallate
E312 – Dodecyl gallate
E315 – Erythorbic acid
E316 – Sodium erythorbate
E312 – Dodecyl gallate
E319 – Tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ)
E320 – Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)
E321 – Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
E330 – Citric Acid
E586 – 4-Hexylresorcinol
Sweeteners
A sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweet taste like that
of sugar while containing significantly less food energy. Some sugar
substitutes are produced by nature, and others produced synthetically. Those
that are not produced by nature are, in general, called artificial sweeteners.
Uses for artificial sweeteners
 Artificial sweeteners are widely used for special situations like
 Diabetes management: Unlike sugar, artificial sweeteners generally don’t
raise blood sugar levels because they are not carbohydrates. But it’s
important to always check with your doctor or dietitian about using any sugar
substitutes if you have diabetes
 Weight control: Artificial sweeteners have virtually no calories which make
them appealing to include in weight loss diets. Also, you need only a fraction
as compared to the regular sugar. However, the type and amount of
sweetener to be used needs to be checked with a doctor or a dietitian
 Avoiding tooth decay: Sweeteners also do not contribute to tooth decay, as
they are not broken down to acid by bacteria in the mouth

Common Sweeteners Approved for Use in India by FSSAI
(Indian regulatory body):
The 4 most common artificial sweeteners used in the food industry are
Aspartame, Acesulphame K2, Saccharin and Sucralose.
Aspartame is a high-intensity, artificial, non-nutritive sweetener which is being
marketed under various brand names like Equal, Nutrasweet, Spoonful,
Indulge, Equal-Measure etc. Aspartame can be found in a variety of products
like instant breakfasts, gelatin desserts, soft drinks, beverages, tabletop
sweeteners, cereals, laxatives, tea beverages, sugar-free chewing gums etc.
Acesulfame potassium is a calorie-free sugar substitute (artificial sweetener),
also known as Acesulfame K. Acesulfame K is 200 times sweeter than
sucrose (table sugar), as sweet as aspartame, about 2/3 as sweet as
saccharin, and 1/3 as sweet as sucralose. In carbonated drinks, it is almost
always used in conjunction with another sweetener, such as aspartame or
sucralose.
Over the last century, Saccharin and its salts have been used in a variety of
beverages, foods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Its primary function is to
provide sweetness without adding calories.
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener which can be used in baking or in products
that require a longer shelf life. Sucralose is used as a replacement for, or in
combination with, other artificial or natural sweeteners, such as aspartame,
acesulfame potassium or high-fructose corn syrup.
Also, there are sugar alcohols like sorbitol, Mannitol and Xylitol which provide
lesser calories and are less sweet than sugar. They are mostly used to
sweeten commercial foods labelled sugar-free or no added sugar.
There are different sets of regulations for use of artificial sweeteners in
different foods as per FSSAI (Indian regulatory body).
While artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes may help with weight
management, they should be used only in moderation. Often, natural
sweeteners are promoted as healthier options than processed table sugar or
other sugar substitutes. However, even these often undergo processing and
refining. Eg. include fruit juices and nectars, honey, molasses, and maple
syrup.
Just because a food is marketed as sugar-free doesn’t mean it’s free of
calories. If you eat too many sugar-free foods, you can still gain weight if they
have other ingredients that contain calories. Intake of artificial sweeteners in
moderation under the guidance of a doctor or a dietitian is the key.

Food Colours
 
Food colouring, or colour additive, is any dye, pigment or substance that
imparts colour when it is added to food or drink. They come in many forms
consisting of liquids, powders, gels, and pastes. Food colouring is used both
in commercial food production and in domestic cooking. Food colourants are
also used in a variety of non-food applications
including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, home craft projects, and medical
devices.
FDA is responsible for regulating all colour additives to ensure that foods
containing colour additives are safe to eat, contain only approved ingredients
and are accurately labelled. Certified colours are synthetically produced (or
human-made) and used widely because they impart an intense, uniform
colour, are less expensive and blend more easily to create a variety of hues.
Color is added to food for one or more of the following reasons:
(1) to replace colour lost during processing,
(2) to enhance colour already present,
(3) to minimize batch-to-batch variations, and
(4) to colour otherwise uncoloured food.
Color additives are categorized as either dyes or lakes.
Dyes dissolve in water and are manufactured as powders, granules, liquids or
other special-purpose forms. They can be used in beverages, dry mixes,
baked goods, dairy products, jams, pudding, pie filling, yoghurt, popsicles, pet
foods and a variety of other products.
Lakes are the water-insoluble form of the dye. Lakes are more stable than
dyes and are ideal for colouring products containing fats and oils, or items
without enough moisture to dissolve dyes. Typical uses include coated tablets,
cake and doughnut mixes, cheese, margarine, candy and chewing gums.
Examples
Pigment type/ Food Colour Where it’s found Color created
Anthocyanins Dark-colored berries; beets Blue-purple
Canthaxanthin Certain fish; algae Pink/orange
Chlorophyll Leaves of green plants/algae Green
Charcoal Burned wood Gray-black
Cochineal Insects Red-purple
Iron oxide Rusting metal Reddish brown
Paprika Ground chilli peppers Orange-red
Saffron Crocus flowers Orange-yellow
Turmeric Turmeric plant root Bright yellow
 
Flavouring Agents
Flavouring agents are key food additives with hundreds of varieties of fruit,
nut, seafood, spice blends, vegetables and wine which are natural flavouring
agents. Besides natural flavours, there are chemical flavours that imitate
natural flavours. Some examples of chemical flavouring agents are alcohols
that have a bitter and medicinal taste, esters are fruity, ketones and pyrazines
 provide flavours to caramel, phenolics have a smokey flavour and terpenoids
have citrus or pine flavour.
Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives)
Regulations, 2011 have described flavouring agents under the head
‘Flavouring Agents and Related Substances’ in the Regulations.
Flavouring agents include flavour substances, flavour extracts or flavour
preparations, which are capable of imparting flavouring properties, namely
taste or odour or both to food. Flavouring agents may be of following three
types:
 Natural Flavours and Natural Flavouring substances means flavour
preparations and single substance respectively, acceptable for human
consumption, obtained exclusively by physical processes from vegetables, for
human consumption. Examples: spices, fruit juices, eggs, herbs, edible yeast,
vegetable juice.
 Nature-Identical Flavouring Substances means substances chemically
isolated from aromatic raw materials or obtained synthetically; they are
chemically identical to substances present in natural products intended for
human consumption, either processed or not. Example: Vanillin, the main
component of vanilla beans which can be produced as a natural or a nature-
identical flavouring substance.
 Artificial Flavouring Substances means those substances which have not
been identified in natural products intended for human consumption either
processed or not. Example: Ethyl vanillin, which is artificial and smells and
tastes like vanillin yet is roughly three times more taste-intensive when added
to ice cream, confectionery and baked goods.
MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate)  is a flavour enhancer. It shall not be added
to any food for use by infant below twelve months. There are many foods
where MSG is not allowed.

Following are the most commonly used chemicals in food

flavouring:
Chemical Odor

Diacetyl, acetyl Buttery
propionyl, acetoin

Isoamyl acetate Banana

Bitter
Benzaldehyde
almond, cherry

Cinnamaldehyde Cinnamon

Ethyl propionate Fruity

Methyl anthranilate Grape

Limonene Orange

Ethyl decadienoate Pear

Allyl hexanoate Pineapple

Sugar, cotton
Ethyl maltol
candy

Ethylvanillin Vanilla

Methyl salicylate Wintergreen

Manzanate Apple
 
Stabilisers & Emulsifiers
Same again, you can either go through the text (below the video) or just watch
this interesting video on Stabilisers & Emulsifiers.
 
A stabiliser is an additive to food which helps to preserve its structure. Typical
uses include preventing oil, water emulsions from separating in products such
as salad dressing; preventing ice crystals from forming in frozen food such as
ice cream; and preventing fruit from settling in products such as jam, yoghurt
and jellies.
Definition of Stabilisers according to Food Processing Technology
 “Stabilisers are substances or chemicals that allow food ingredients, which do
not mix well, to remain in a homogenous state after blending.”

The following are the most common ones used as

stabilisers:
 alginate

 agar

 carrageen

 cellulose and cellulose derivatives

 gelatin

 guar gum

 gum Arabic

 locust bean gum

 pectin

 starch

 xanthan gum
Food stabilisers are confused with preservatives. But there is a difference
between the two. Stabilisers is used to retain the physical characteristics of
the food whereas as preservatives prevent the spoilage of the food. Food
stabilisers increase the stability and thickness of the food by binding its large
molecules.
Applications of Stabilisers for Food
Stabilisers for food are used in many kinds of products. The most common
ones that use the food stabilisers are
 Ice Cream

 Margarine

 Low-fat spreads
 Dairy products

 Salad dressings

 Mayonnaise

Food Contaminants

A contaminant is any physical, chemical or biological entity that is potentially

undesirable for the human health. Contaminants are the substances which are
not intentionally added to food items, but there are probable situations where
the contaminants come in contact with a food item.
Food contaminants include bacteria, parasites and toxic residues.

Food Contamination
Food contamination is anything in food that reduces the safety or quality and
is not supposed to be there. Food may be contaminated intentionally or
accidentally.

Food Adulteration
Food adulteration is the process in which the quality of food is lowered either
by the addition of inferior quality material or by extraction of the valuable
ingredient. It not only includes the intentional addition or substitution of the
substances but biological and chemical contamination during the period of
growth, storage, processing, transport and distribution of the food products, is
also responsible for the lowering or degradation of the quality of food
products. Adulterants are those substances which are used for making the
food products unsafe for human consumption.

Adulterants
An adulterant is a chemical which acts as a contaminant when combined with
other substances.
Examples:
Ice Cream: Washing powder is regularly added to add volume to ice cream.
Tumeric, Coriander powder, Red Chilies:
Tumeric is mixed with metanil yellow, coloured chalk powder, aniline dyes;
wood powder is added to both turmeric and coriander, while red chillies are
mixed with Red colour dye, Sudan Red III colour and brick dust. Etc.

Butter and Cream:

Anatta is added to give a yellow tinge to butter. A byproduct of beef fat called
oleomargarine is added in large quantities to butter. Cream is adulterated with
gelatin and formaldehyde is added to increase the shelf life. Vanaspati is
added to pure ghee and butter.

Ice Cream:
Washing powder is regularly added to add volume to ice cream.

Milk, Paneer, Khoya:

Urea, Starch and washing powder is added.

Tumeric, Coriander powder, Red Chilies:

Tumeric is mixed with metanil yellow, coloured chalk powder, aniline dyes;
wood powder is added to both turmeric and coriander, while red chillies are
mixed with Red colour dye, Sudan Red III colour and brick dust.

Mustard:
Argemone seeds are regularly added.

Spice Powder:
Barn is added along with synthetic colours.

Cinnamon Bark:
Cassia bark is added.
Cumin seeds:
Grass seeds coloured with charcoal is mixed.
Pulses: Moong, Chana etc
Lead Chromate is added on a regular basis. Kesari dal is added to Besan and
yellow dal.

Tea:
Iron filings, coloured tea leaves, used.
Coffee:

Chicory is mixed with the powder.

Wheat Flour:
Chalk powder, barn dust and sand are added.

Confectionary
Colours that have a harmful effect on the body are added to confectionary
items that children consume on a regular basis and they include copper,
Prussian blue, arsenic compounds, chrome yellow etc.

Vegetables:
Copper salts are added to colour the vegetables with green.

Vegetable Oils:
Castor oil, Mineral oil, Argemone oil, Kranaja oil is added.