Food additives have been used by mankind for centuries. Salt, sugar and vinegar were among the first and used to preserve foods. In the past 30 years, however, with the advent of processed foods, there has been a massive explosion in the chemical adulteration of foods with additives.Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavour or improve its taste and appearance. Different types of food additives are:
- acids
Food acids are added to make flavors "sharper", and also act as preservatives and antioxidants. Common food acids include vinegar, citric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, lactic acid.
- anticaking agents
Anticaking agents keep powders such as milk powder from caking or sticking.
- antifoaming agents
antifoaming agents reduce or prevent foaming in foods.
- antioxidants
antioxidants such as vitamin c act as preservatives by inhibiting the effects of oxygen on food, and can be beneficial to health.
- bulking agents
bulking agents such as starch are food additives that increase the bulk of a food without affecting its nutritional value.
- food coloring
colorings are added to food to replace colors lost during preparation, or to make food look more attractive.
- color retention agents
in contrast to colorings, color retention agents are used to preserve a food's existing color.
- emulsifiers
emulsifiers allow water and oils to remain mixed together in an emulsion, as in mayonnaise, ice cream, and homogenized milk.
- flavors
flavors are food additives that give food a particular taste or smell, and may be derived from natural ingredients or created artificially.
- flavor enhancers
flavor enhancers enhance a food's existing flavors. These food additives may be extracted from natural sources or created artificially.
- preservatives
preservatives are food additives prevent or inhibit spoilage of food due to fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms.
- stabilizers
stabilizers give foods a firmer texture. While they are not true emulsifiers, they help to stabilize emulsions.
- sweeteners
sweeteners are added to foods for flavoring. Sweeteners other than sugar are added to keep the food energy (calories) low
