What Are Food Additives?

Author: Alexander Bruni Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

In this article, learn more about What Are Food Additives?. Food additives improve their taste, aroma and keep them for years longer.

Everyone has read the label of ordinary foods such as bread, for example. The label is expected to say that it contains flour, water, salt and yeast. And what are all the other complex names that are written in the content? These ingredients are generally called food additives and are found in almost all processed foods.

Without these additives, bread, yogurt and other similar foods will spoil before they arrive at the store. Food additives have been the subject of controversy in recent years and, although controlled by the competent authorities in each country, their use is constantly increasing.

Food additives are used to improve the taste of food, its appearance, ensure safety and nutritional value. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), more than 3,000 different additives are used to improve food quality.

Additives can be natural or synthetic. Many of the supplements used by the food industry come from natural sources. These are beet juice (natural colorant), salt, citric acid and others. Very often due to high price or lack of sufficient quantities, natural supplements are not the first choice of manufacturers. In this case, resort to artificial additives. For example, vanillin, the main aromatic component of vanilla beans, is synthesized artificially and is many times cheaper than natural vanilla.

Even if the price was not so high, it is debatable whether the production of vanilla has the capacity to supply the needs of the market.

One of the most widely used food and beverage additives is flavorings or enhancers. They can be both natural and synthetic. Essential oils and spices are most of the natural flavors used in the food industry. They are used to enhance the natural taste of food.

The most used enhancers are maltol and mono sodium glutamate. It is the sodium salt of glutamic acid - one of the non-essential amino acids. It is found in most processed foods. Sodium glutamate crosses the blood-brain barrier and can cause headaches , difficulty breathing and heart palpitations in some people .

What Are Food Additives?

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