DO you still eating this??

All of us consume the foods every day. But, do you know food additives have been added during manufacturing the food?

Many people enjoy making bread, cakes, wine, jam, and ice cream at home. However, most of today's food is bought from shops or supermarkets.

Homemade food is always at its best when eaten straight away. Food produced on the large scale that is needed to supply supermarkets and other food shops has to be transported and stored before it is consumed. It has to remain in top condition over a much longer period of time than home-cooked food.

Additives are used so that these foods still have a constantly high quality. In some products, they are so essential that additives are used even in certain organic foods. Thus, preservatives, colours and flavours are the best known additives. But, in fact there are many categories of additives and each tailored to a specific purpose.

Food additive have been added to food in small quantities for specific purposes such as protection against bacterial attack or restoring the colour of food destroyed during food processing. It has been used by mankind for centuries. Salt, sugar and vinegar were among the first and used to preserve foods and make the food taste better.

But nowadays, different types of food additives are used to retard spoilage, enhance food flavors, replace nutrient lost in processing and makes the food more visually appealing. For instance, preservatives, antioxidants, flavouring agents, stabilizers or thickening agents and colouring agents.

The chemical that commonly used for preservations are :

Sodium Nitrate and sodium nitrite -NaNO₂, NaNO₃

It is found in processed meats, such as sausages, cheese, hot dogs, bacon, ham, and dried fish. They are used to extend shelf life, protect food poisoning in canned foods and maintain the colour in meats and dried fruits, to make them look fresh.Excessive intakes of sodium nitrite (carcinogen) can cause cancer and brain damage

·Benzoic acid and sodium benzoate(C₆H₅COOH, C₆H₅COONa)

It is used to preserve sauce (oyster, tomato or chili) fruit juice, jam, soft drink, margarine and acidic food.

·Sulphur dioxide and sodium sulphite (SO₂, Na₂SO₃)

Sulphite is found in dried fruits, shredded coconut, fruit based pie fillings. It is used as bleaches and antioxidants to prevent browning in fruit juices. Besides, they are used to maintain the colour and freshness of vegetables.

Extend shelf life by prevent the growth of yeast, bacteria and fungi.

Antioxidants

Prevent the fats and oils from oxidized in the air. It is also prevent fats and oils from turning rancid. The rancid products are volatile organic compounds with foul odours ( butanoic acid, C₃H₇COOH)

It may protect against cancer, heart disease, and other diseases.

Flavouring agents

It added to food to make them taste better and improve the flavor of many canned or processed foods. There are two types of flvouring agents:

· Flavour enhancers

Hydrolyzed vegetable - used in mixes, stock, processed meats.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) - used in Chinese food, dry mixes, stock cubes, and canned, processed, and frozen meats to enhances the flavor of food.

MSG can cause allergic reactions in some people. The symptoms of MSG are giddiness, chest pain and difficulty in breathing.

· Artificial flavours

Aspartame and saccharin – enhance sweetness in food and drink, example:

sweeteners, peppermint or vanilla.

Esters – have fruity odours and tastes as artificial flavours.

Emulsifiers, stabilizers and thickeners

They are used to improve texture and the blending of food by increasing smoothness, creaminess, and volume. Stabilizers hold in moisture and prevent separation of oil and water. Thickening agents absorb water and thicken the liquid in food to produce a jelly-like structure. They are found in sauces, soups, breads, baked goods, frozen desserts, ice cream, low-fat and artificial cream cheese, condiments, jams, jellies, chocolate, puddings, and milk shakes.

Dyes or Colouring agents

It is found in the cakes, sweets, biscuits, breads and others to give them colour so as to improve their appearance. The food industry uses synthetic food colours to restore the lost colours during food processing and increase the attractiveness of food.

Tartrazine is one of the dyes. It has been reported can cause asthma in sensitive individuals although the rate is extremely low. Besides, tartrazine can cause the chindren hyperactive and very restless.

As we know, food additive can prevent food spoilage and improve nutritional value. But, consume the food additive in excess quantities over a long period of time is detrimental to health. So, are you going to choose the life with or without food additives? In short, use wise of it.

Reference :

http://www.eufic.org/article/en/page/BARCHIVE/expid/basics-food-additives/

http://nac.allergyforum.com/additives/

http://hubpages.com/hub/Types-of-Food-Additives

http://www.understandingfoodadditives.org/pages/Ch2p0.htm