The importance of additive in food

The term does not include chance contaminants. An additive may be reactive or inactive; it may be nutritive or nonnutritive; it should be neither toxic nor hazardous.

Additives are substances, or a mixture of substances, other than basic foodstuffs, that are present in food as a result of any aspect of production, processing, storage or packaging.

The importance of food additive includes:
*To maintain product consistency
*To improve or maintain nutritional value
*To maintain palatability and wholesomeness
*To provide leavening or control acidity/alkalinity
*To enhance flavor or impart desired color

Food additives has important role in the production of processed meats and sausages, where it solubilizes muscle protein, which contribute to meta binding, moisture and fat retention and the formation of desirable gel texture upon cooking.

Coloring and dyes, preservatives, emulsifying and stabilizing agents, antioxidants, synthetic, a natural flavoring agents, additives improving specific sensory characteristics, bleaching agents are among the most popular food additives.

Before World War II there were relatively few food additives for functional purpose. The revolution in food technology in the 1940s and 1950s brought proliferation of new additives.

Moreover changes in demographics, particularly the migration of the population from farms to the cities fueled a growing need for additives such as preservatives.
The importance of additive in food