Nearly all packaged, canned or prepared foods, condiments and beverages contain additives. More than 90% of food additives are synthetic.
Thousands of the chemicals that are added to food as additives are either synthetic or naturally occurring.
Natural additives are obtained from plants or animals. Most of the potent known poisons occur naturally in plants, animals or microorganisms.
Many natural substances of plant origin are complex and contain molecules that cannot be easily dealt within the animal body.
Synthetic additives are made in a laboratory using various chemicals. Synthetic substances are often simple and of greater purity. Synthetic additive such as flavors represent the largest group of food additive and are used to replace more expensive natural flavor.
Both natural and artificial flavoring substances are regarded as foreign substances and may not be used unless specifically permitted in the regulation governing each group of products.
Natural and synthetic food additive
Betalains: Nutritional Power and Natural Color in Vegetables
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Betalains are a unique group of pigments that occur in certain plants,
particularly within the Amaranthaceae family, which includes well-known
vegetables l...