Food Additive in General

Food Additive in General
A food additive is a substance (or a mixture of substance) which is added to food and is involved in its production, processing, packaging and/or storage without being a major ingredient.

Additives or their degradation products generally remain in food, but in some case they may be removed during processing.

The following examples illustrate and support the use of additives to enhance the:

Nutritive Value of food
Additive such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids and amino acids derivatives are utilized to increase the nutritive value of food. A particular diet may also require the use of thickening agents, emulsifiers, sweeteners, etc.

Sensory Value of Food
Color, odor, taste and consistency or texture, which are important for the sensory value of food, may decreases during processing and storage. Such decreases can be corrected or readjusted by additives such as pigment aroma compounds or flavor enhancers.
Development of “off flavor” for instance, derived from fat or oil oxidation, can be suppressed by antioxidants. Food texture can be stabilized by adding minerals or polysaccharides, and by many other means.

Shelf Life of Food
The current forms of food production and distribution, as well as the trend towards convenient foods, have increased the demand for longer shelf life. Furthermore, the world food supply situation requires preservation by avoiding deterioration as much as possible.
The extension of shelf life involves protection against microbial spoilage, for example, by using anti-microbial additives and by using active agents which suppress and retard undesired chemical and physical changes in food.
The latter is achieved by stabilization of pH using buffering additives or stabilization of texture with thickening or gelling agents which are polysaccharides.

It is implicitly understood that food additives and their degradation products should be non toxic at their recommend levels of use. This applies equally to acute and to chronic toxicity, particularly the potential carcinogenic, teratogenic (causing a malformed fetus) and mutagenic (causing a malformed fetus) and mutagenic effects.

It is generally recognized that additives are applied only when required for then nutritive or sensory value of food, or for its processing or handling.
Food Additive in General