Ch 2.

Introduction to Food
Additives
An-Najah National university

Dr. Mohammed Sabah

https://www.faia.org.uk/why-additives/

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• "All things are poisons; nothing is
without poison; only the dose
determines whether there is a
harmful effect".

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Showing classification of food additives 3
 Food additive standard

• The Codex Alimentarius Commission Committee ‫هيئة‬

‫ الدستور الغذائي‬on Food Additives and Contaminants has
developed an international numbering system(INS)
for food additives based on the E system.

• The INS systems broader than the E system and is

intended as an identification system for food additives
approved for use in one or more countries.

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• Several lists of these additives are available.

• Several additives commonly serve more than one

function in foods.

• In Europe and other parts of the world, the E

system, developed by the European Union (formally
the European Economic Community), provides a
listing of several commonly used additives.

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• The INS numbers are largely the same
numbers used in the E system without the E.

• The INS system also includes a listing of the

technical function for each additive based on
23 functional classes.

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 I. INTRODUCTION
Food additive
Food additive means any substance not normally consumed as a food by itself and not
normally used as a typical ingredient of the food, whether or not it has nutritive value, the
intentional addition of which to food for a technological (including organoleptic) purpose in
the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding
of such food results, or may be reasonably expected to result (directly or indirectly), in it or
its by-products becoming a component of or otherwise affecting the characteristics of such
foods. The term does not include contaminants or substances added to food for maintaining
or improving nutritional qualities.

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Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) is an estimate by JECFA of the amount of a food
additive, expressed on a body weight basis that can be ingested daily over a
lifetime without appreciable health risk.

Maximum Use Level of an additive is the highest concentration of the additive

determined to be functionally effective in a food or food category and agreed to be
safe by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. It is generally expressed as mg
additive/kg of food.

The maximum use level will not usually correspond to the optimum,
recommended, or typical level of use. Under GMP, the optimum, recommended, or
typical use level will differ for each application of an additive and is dependent on
the intended technical effect and the specific food in which the additive would be
used, taking into account the type of raw material, food processing and post-
manufacture storage, transport and handling by distributors, retailers, and
consumers.

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 II. TYPES OF ADDITIVES
• Additives can be divided into six major categories:
1. preservatives,
2. nutritional additives,
3. flavoring agents,
4. coloring agents,
5. texturizing agents,
6. and miscellaneous additives.

https://www.fao.org/gsfaonline/reference/techfuncs.html
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• The E numbers are categorized as follows:

 E100–E199 (colors)
 E200–E299 (preservatives)
 E300–E399 (antioxidants, acidity regulators)
 E400–E499 (thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers)
 E500–E599 (acidity regulators, anti-caking agents)
 E600–E699 (flavor enhancers)
 E900–E999 (surface coating agents, gases, sweeteners
)
 E1000–E1999 (additional chemicals)
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 Why we add additive to the food?

a) To preserve the nutritional quality of the food; an intentional reduction in the

nutritional quality of a food would be justified in the circumstances dealt with in sub-
paragraph (b) and also in other circumstances where the food does not constitute a
significant item in a normal diet;
b) To provide necessary ingredients or constituents for foods manufactured for groups
of consumers having special dietary needs;
c) To enhance the keeping quality or stability of a food or to improve its organoleptic
properties, provided that this does not change the nature, substance or quality of the
food so as to deceive the consumer;
d) To provide aids in the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing,
transport or storage of food, provided that the additive is not used to disguise the
effects of the use of faulty raw materials or of undesirable (including unhygienic)
practices or techniques during the course of any of these activities.

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 A. Preservatives
• There are basically three types of preservatives used in foods:
1. antimicrobials,
2. antioxidants,
3. and antibrowning agents.

• These additives are grouped under the category of

preservatives in the INS system.

• The antimicrobials, with E and INS numbers ranging from

200 to 290, are used to check or prevent the growth of
microorganisms.
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• Antimicrobials play a major role in extending the
shelf-life of numerous snack and convenience
(useful) foods and have come into even greater use
in recent years as microbial food safety concerns
have increased.

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• The antioxidants (INS 300–326 and E300–E326), are used to
prevent lipid and/or vitamin oxidation in food products.

• They are used primarily to prevent autoxidation and subsequent

development of rancidity and off-flavor.

 autoxidation

The unsaturated fatty acids present in the lipids of many foods are
at risk to chemical breakdown when exposed to oxygen. The
oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids it proceeds (income) by a
free-radical chain reaction.
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• The antioxidants vary from natural substances
such as: vitamins C and E to synthetic
chemicals such as butylated hydroxy anisole
(BHA) and butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT).

• The antioxidants are especially useful in

preserving dry and frozen foods for an
extended period of time.

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• Antibrowning agents are chemicals used to prevent
both enzymatic and nonenzymatic browning in food
products, especially dried fruits or vegetables.

• Enzymatic browning is a chemical process which

occurs in fruits and vegetables by the enzyme poly
phenol oxidase, which results in brown pigments.

• Non enzymatic browning: It results from a

chemical reaction between an amino acid and a sugar,
usually requiring heat 22
• the most commonly used additives in this category
(antibrowning) are:
1. Vitamin C (E300),
2. citric acid (E330),
3. and sodium sulfite (E221)

• These additives are classified as either antioxidants

or preservatives in the INS system, but retain the
same numbers as in the E system without the E.
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 B. Nutritional Additives
• Nutritional additives have increased in use in recent years
as consumers have become more concerned about and
interested in nutrition.

• Vitamins, which as indicated before are also used in some

cases as preservatives, are commonly added to cereals and
cereal products to:

1. restore nutrients lost in processing

2. or to enhance the overall nutritive value of the food.

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• The addition of vitamin D to milk and of B vitamins
to bread has been associated with the prevention of
major nutritional deficiencies in the United States.

• Minerals such as iron and iodine have also been of

extreme value in preventing nutritional deficiencies.

Like vitamins, the primary use of minerals is in cereal

products.

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• Amino acids are not commonly used in foods.

• However, lysine is sometimes added to cereals

to enhance protein quality.

• Proteins or proteinaceous materials such as

soya protein are also sometimes used as
nutritional additives.
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• Fiber additives have seen increased popularity in
recent years with the increase in consumer interest
in dietary fiber.

• Various cellulose, pectin and starch derivatives have

been used for this purpose.

• Recently, naturally derived fiber from apples and

other fruits as well as sugar beets has been
introduced as a fiber additive.

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• Fiber additives are not well defined and in
reality have little or no direct nutritional
value, although they do have indirect
nutritional benefits.

• In some cases, fiber additives also provide

improved texture to food products and are
categorized in the INS and E system as bulking
agents, thickeners, or stabilizers.
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 C. Coloring Agents

• Most coloring agents are used to improve the overall

attractiveness of the food.

• A number of natural and synthetic additives are used to color

foods.

• In addition, sodium nitrite is used not only as an antimicrobial,

but also to fix the color of meat by interaction with meat
pigments.

• The colors are included in the E system as E100–E180 and in the

INS as 100–182.
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 D. Flavoring Agents

• Flavoring agents comprise the greatest

number of additives used in foods.

• There are three major types of flavoring

additives:
1. sweeteners,
2. natural and synthetic flavors,
3. and flavor enhancers.
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• The most commonly used sweeteners are:
1. sucrose,
2. glucose,
3. fructose,
4. and lactose,
• with sucrose being the most popular.

These substances, however, are commonly classified

as foods rather than as additives
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• The most common additives used as
sweeteners are lowcalorie or noncaloric
sweeteners

such as saccharin and aspartame.

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• there are more than 1700 natural and
synthetic substances used to flavor foods.

• These additives are, in most cases, mixtures of

several chemicals and are used to substitute
for natural flavors.

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• Flavor enhancers (INS 620–642 and E620–
E640) magnify or modify the flavor of foods
and do not contribute any flavor of their own.

• Flavor enhancers, which include chemicals

such as monosodium glutamate (E621) and
others are often used in Asian foods or in
soups to enhance the perception of other
tastes.
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 E. Texturizing Agents

• Although flavoring agents comprise the

greatest number of chemicals, texturizing
agents are used in the greatest total quantity.

• These agents are used to add to or modify the

overall texture or mouthfeel of food products.

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• the primary additives in this category are:
1. Emulsifiers
2. Stabilizers
3. Phosphate
4. Dough conditioners

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• Emulsifiers (INS 429–496 and, E431 and E495)
include:

1. natural substances such as lecithin (INS 322 and

E322) and mono and diglycerides

2. as well as several synthetic derivatives.

• The primary role of these agents is to allow flavors

and oils to be dispersed throughout a food product.
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• Stabilizers include several natural gums such as
carrageenan as well as natural and modified starches.

• Stabilizers used:

1. to provide the desired texture in products such as ice

cream.

2. They also are used to prevent evaporation of volatile

flavor oil.

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• Phosphates (E338–E343) are often used to modify
the texture of foods containing protein or starch.

• These chemicals are especially useful in stabilizing

various dairy and meat products.

• The phosphates apparently react with protein

and/or starch and modify the water-holding
capacity of these natural food components.
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• Dough conditioners

such as
1. steroyl-2-lactylate E481
2. and sodium silico aluminate E554

they are also used as texturizing agents.

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 F. Thickeners

• Thickeners are substances which, when added

to the mixture, to increase its viscosity
• Types of thickeners
i. Binder
ii. Bodying agent
iii. Texturizing agent
iv. Thickener

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 III. BENEFITS OF ADDITIVES

• There are clearly many recognized benefits to

be derived from additives.

• Some of the major benefits are:

A. a safer and more nutritious food supply,
B. a greater choice of food products,
C. and a lower-priced food supply.

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 A. Safer and More Nutritious Foods

• There is no question that the preservative and

nutritional additives used in foods increase
the safety and overall value of many food
products.

• The use of several antimicrobials is known to

prevent food poisoning from various bacteria
and molds.

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• Antioxidants, used to prevent the
development of off-flavors, also prevent the
formation of potentially toxic autoxidation
products and maintain the nutritional value of
vitamins and lipids.

• the use of various nutritional additives such as

vitamins is also of proven value in preventing
nutritional deficiencies.

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 B. Greater Choice of Foods

• Most major supermarkets today carry more than 20,000

food items, providing the consumer a wide choice of food
products.

• The availability of additives has allowed the production of

numerous out-of-season foods and a variety of new food
products.

• Additives have increased the development of: convenience

foods, snack foods, low-calorie and health promoting
(functional) foods and exotic (foreign) foods.
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• Additives allow these foods to be pre-prepared and
still maintain acceptable flavor, texture, and nutritional
value.

• It is estimated that the shelf life of cereal products can

be increased over 200% by the use of antioxidants.

• The snack food industry has continued to be

successful because the use of coloring and flavoring
additives make available a wide array of snack items.
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• The greatest increase in food additive use in the next
several years is likely to be in the functional food

• A functional food: can be defined as a food or

beverage that imparts a physiological benefit that
enhances overall health, helps prevent or treat a
disease/condition, or improves physical or mental
performance via an added functional ingredient,
processing modification, or biotechnology.

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 IV. Dangers of food additives and preservatives

 Although additives and preservatives are essential for food

storage, they can give rise to certain health problems.

 They can cause different allergies and conditions such as

hyperactivity and Attention Deficit Disorder in the some
people who are sensitive to specific chemicals.

 The foods containing additives can cause asthma, hay

fever and certain reactions such as rashes, vomiting,
headache, tight chest, hives and worsening of eczema.

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• Toxicological problems resulting from the long-term
consumption of additives are not well documented.

• But the long-term consumption of additives is related

to:
1. Cancer
2. and reproductive problems

although there is no direct evidence linking additive

consumption with their occurrence in humans.
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• There are, however, animal studies that have
indicated potential problems with some
additives.

• Although most of these additives have been

banned, some continue to be used, the most
notable being saccharin

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Colour additives to avoid

Colour additives to avoid

Erythrosine 127 E123
Tartrazine E102 E132*
Quinoline yellow E133
E104
Sunser yellow E110
Carmosine E122
Allura red E129
Ponceau 4R E124

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Food preservatives to Flavourings &
avoid: sweeteners to avoid:
E211* E621
E249 E951
E220 E954
E213 High Fructose Corn
Syrup (HFCS)
E226

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Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
All food additives subject to the provisions of this Standard shall be used under
conditions of good manufacturing practice, which include the following:
a) The quantity of the additive added to food shall be limited to the lowest possible
level necessary to accomplish its desired effect;
b) The quantity of the additive that becomes a component of food as a result of its
use in the manufacturing, processing or packaging of a food and which is not
intended to accomplish any physical, or other technical effect in the food itself, is
reduced to the extent reasonably possible; and,
c) The additive is of appropriate food grade quality and is prepared and handled in
the same way as a food ingredient.

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