Food additives are an integral part do modern foods. Food additives make possible year-round safe, convenient and tasty foods.
People do die from microbial hazards, but deaths due to consuming pesticide residues or food additives are rare.
Excessive levels of an additive or inclusion of an undeclared additive may be directly dangerous in some instances, but food additives themselves, when used properly, pose little health risk given current scientific evidence.
Today manufacturers use more than 3000 food additives. Food additives are those substances that are intentionally added to food for maintaining or improving its appearance, texture, flavor and nutritional value, as well as for the prevention of microbial spoilage.
Despite benefits attributed to food additives for several years there have also been a number of concerns regarding the potential short and long term risks of consuming food additives.
Critics of additives are concerned with both indirect and direct impacts of using additives.
The indirect health effects are the opposite of some of their beneficial effects. The use of additive had led to a wider food assortment, but also increased availability of food with a low nutrient content including junk food.
The direct effects include short-term as well as long term toxic effects.
Health effects of food additives
