Food Additives: Types, Uses & Effects PDF

Objectives. 0 What are the Food What are the undesirable Additives? effects of preservatives? What are E numbers? What are the flavors? What are the types of non- What are the types of caloric sweetene...

Objectives. 0 What are the Food What are the undesirable Additives? effects of preservatives? What are E numbers? What are the flavors? What are the types of non- What are the types of caloric sweeteners and their additives? using?  Objectives. 0 What are the sugar What are dietary alcohols and their benefits? supplements? What are the permitted antioxidants ? What are the Processing aids ?  Food Additives What are Food Additives? Food additives are substances added to foods for many purposes e.g. to keep foods fresh until eaten; elongate shelf- life, attractive presentation etc. Food additives must gain approval before their use in food manufacture and is permitted at specified levels. Some additives are naturally occurring substances but they must also undergo safety testing before their use in food manufacture.  E numbers What are the E numbers? E numbers identify permitted food additives that, regarded as save for use within the European Union. Some additives have a number but no E prefix as they are under consideration by the European Commission. All food labels must show the additives' name or E number in the list of ingredients.  E number list of ingredients: E100–E199 (colours) E200–E299 (preservatives) E300–E399 (antioxidants, acidity regulators) E400–E499 (thickeners, stabilisers, emulsifiers) E500–E599 (acidity regulators, anti-caking agents) E600–E699 (flavour enhancer) E700–E799 (antibiotics) E900–E999 (glazing agents, gases and sweeteners) E1000–E1599 (additional additives)  What are the types of additives? Additives include: 1. Preservatives. 2. Colors. 3. Flavors. 4. Sweeteners. 5. Antioxidants. 6. Processing aids.  1- Preservatives What are the Preservatives? Preservatives (E200-290): o Preservatives are substances added to foods to inhibit microbial spoilage. o Common foods including meats, cheeses, baked goods, fruit juices and soft drinks are likely to include preservatives. o Even if sterile foods are produced initially by thermal processing, infection with bacteria, fungi and yeasts can occur in these foods, which are often not consumed, at one sitting, and preservatives are required to extend the shelf-life of the products. Commonly used preservatives are shown in Table (3).  Table 3-Commonly used Preservatives Name E-number Food use E200-E203 Cheese, yogurt, and soft drinks. Sorbic acid and derivatives Acetic acid E260 Pickles and sauces. Lactic acid E270 Margarine and sauces. Propionic acid and derivatives E280-E283 Bread, cakes, and flour. Benzoic acid and derivatives E210-E219 Pickles, soft drinks, fruit products, and jams. Sulphur dioxide E220 Pickles, fruit products, and wine. Nitrites E249-E250 Crud meats, cooked meats, and meat products. Nitrates E251-E252 Bacon, ham and cheese (not cheddar)  What are the undesirable effects of preservatives? 1. Benzoates and sulphur dioxide have been identified as causing allergic reactions including chronic utricaria and asthma in susceptible individuals. 2- Sulphur dioxide is used to destroy yeasts which can cause fermentation in food products. Sulphur dioxide is not permitted in foods that are significant sources of thiamin, because it destroys thiamin. 3-Nitrites and nitrates kill the bacteria that cause botulism, a lethal form of food poisoning. They preserve the red color in meat and are used in crude meats and some cheeses. Nitrites have caused some concerns because secondary amines react with nitrite derivatives to form N-nitroso-compounds that are possibly carcinogenic.  2- Colors Colors (E100-199) Food is colored to: 1) Restore losses that occur in manufacture and storage. 2) Meet consumer expectations. 3) Maintain uniformity of products. o The classes of natural colors used for food include carotenoids, chlorophyll, anthocyanins and betalaines (Table 4). o Beside these, some synthetic compounds (Table 5) are allowed for addition to food. Most of the allowed synthetic food colors are water-soluble.  Table 4- Examples of natural food colors Name E-number Food use Riboflavin ( yellow) E101 Processed cheese. Chlorophyll (green) E140 Fats, oils, canned and dried vegetables. Carbon (black) E153 Jams, jellies Carotene (yellow/orange) E160 Margarine and cakes.  Table 5- Examples of synthetic food colors Name E-number Food use Tartazine ( yellow) E102 Soft drinks Sunset (yellow) E110 Orange drinks Amaranth (red) E123 Blackcurrant products Erythrosine (red) E127 Glace cherries Indigo carmine (blue) E132 Savory food mixes Triarylmethane (Green S) E142 Tinned peas, mint jelly and sauce  Undesirable effects of synthetic food colors Some food colors (e.g. tartazine) have been found to cause allergic responses in susceptible individuals. It has been estimated that 100,000 peoples in USA are sensitive to tartazine. Symptoms of the allergic response include urticaria, swelling, often of the face and lips, runny nose and asthma.  3- Flavors Flavors (E600-E699) that added to food may be: Natural components derived from raw materials (such as spices) by extraction. A range of essential oils, including clove oil and orange oil are widely used for flavoring foods. OR Chemically synthesized compounds such as vanillin, menthol, salicylate, benzaldehyde, maltol, and cinnamaldhyde.  4- Sweeteners Sweeteners: it is a food additive that provides a sweet taste like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners. Since the consumers are very interested in low caloric food and beverage products, the food industry has developed a range of zero or low caloric sweeteners. List of variou sweeteners can be seen in Tables 6&7:  Table 6- Examples of Non-Caloric sweeteners Name E-number Acesulfame K E421 Aspartame E420 Cyclamic acid and its salts E953 Saccharine and its salts E965 Thaumatin E967 Neohesperidine E966 Aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame -K (acesulfame potassium), and cyclamates are highly effective non caloric sweeteners.  Aspartame Aspartame consists of 2 amino acids, aspartic and phenylalanine. People with phenylketonuria (a rare inherited disorder) must avoid food containing aspartame because they do not metabolize phenylalanine effectively.  Saccharine and acesulfame K Saccharin and acesulfame K suffered from metallic off-taste defect. Saccharin products carry health warning labels. Concerns about the safety of saccharin were raised following a Canadian study in 1970s in which bladder tumors were found in rats feed on saccharin.  Saccharin is found in many foods such as jams, chewing gum, canned fruit, candy, and salad dressings. It is also useful in cosmetic products, vitamins, and pharmaceuticals.  Acesulfame K is usually used in combination with aspartame or other sweeteners. It does not provide calories since the body does not metabolize it, and it is excreted in the urine without being changed. Acesulfame-K is found in many foods, including chewing gum, desserts, syrups, sauces, and yogurt.  Sucralose Sucralose are salts of aspartame- acesulfame. Sucralose are permitted sweeteners in the UK but don't have E number as they are not fully permitted in the European Union.  Table 7- Examples of Caloric sweeteners (Sugar alcohols) Name E-number Mannitol E421 Sorbitol E420 Isomalt E953 Maltitol E965 Xylitol E967 Lactitol E966  Sugar alcohols Sugar alcohols including sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol have the same caloric content as sucrose but: They are absorbed more slowly from the digestive tract. Don't raise blood sugar and insulin level, thus they are suitable for sweetening diabetic foods. 5-Antioxidants Antioxidants, acidity regulators (E300–E399 ):. These make foods last longer by helping to stop the fats, oils and certain vitamins from combining with oxygen in the air. these types of additives prevent the unpleasant taste and smell that occur when fats and oils go rancid. Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid or E300, is one of the most widely used antioxidants. The most used antioxidants are butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Table (8) shows the permitted antioxidants.  Table 8- Examples of permitted antioxidants Name E-number Food use Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and E300-E305 Soft drinks, bread, powdered derivatives milks, fruits, meat products Tocopherols (vitamin E) and E306-E309 Vegetable oils derivatives Gallates E310-E320 Vegetable oils, fats and margarine BHA E320 Margarine, fats in baked products. BHT E321 Crisps, vegetable oils, and margarine.  6-Processing aids Processing aids are substances used to facilitate food processing by acting as emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, gelling agents, antifoaming agents; lubricants. Moreover these additives are needed to increase the shelf-life of some foods and affect their texture.  Table 9- Examples of Processing aids Name E-number Food use Lecithins (may be used as E322 Chocolate, margarine, potato antioxidants) snacks Citric acid and derivatives E472c Pickles, dairy products, baked products Tartaic acid and derivatives E472d-f Baking powder Alginic acid E400-E405 Ice cream, and puddings Agar E406 Ice cream, tinned ham Carrageenan E407 Ice cream Gums E410-E418 Ice cream and soups. Pectin E440 Jellies  Many processing aids are natural substances, e.g. Carrageenan: which is derived from seaweeds. Polyphosphates: which have received a great deal of attention from consumer groups as they enable products to retain water so increase the product weight. They are used in products such as frozen poultry and crude meats. Processing aids are not consumed as food ingredients. Remains of the processing aids may be present in the finished product and it is a legal requirement that they do not present any risk to human health.  Dietary supplements Food supplements are defined by EU as ' foodstuffs'' which supplement the normal diet and provide concentrated source of nutrients (vitamins and minerals) or other substances with a physiological effect, alone or in combination, marketed in dose form designed to be taken in measured small unit quantities. Vegetarians and pregnant women, may benefits from supplements.  The range of nutrition supplements are vast and can't be covered enough in this course. Supplements which are growing with vitamins, minerals, and fish liver oil being the most popular in health feed shops, chemists, and supermarkets. Information on health benefits of specific supplements can be obtained from the National Institute of Health's (USA) office for Dietary Supplement (www.ods.nih.gov/).  Micronutrient supplements In 2003, the Expert Group on vitamins and minerals published its report on the safety of vitamins and minerals in food supplements. Safe upper limits were set for all vitamins and most minerals. The full report can be found at (www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/vitamins2003pdf).  Clinical supplements A range of supplements are available for clinical use, e.g. high energy drinks, which are prescribed or recommended by health care professionals.