All The Truth About Food Additives You Should Know

Abstract:

Carrageenan in food has its unique properties and can be used as a thickener, gelling agent, suspending agent, activator, stabilizer, etc. in the food industry. It acts as a good coagulant and can replace other common hydrocolloids such as agar, gelatin, pectin, etc.

1. What are Food Additives

Food additives are synthetic or natural substances that can improve the quality, color and aroma of food and are added to food according to the needs of preserving, preserving and processing processes.
Food additives are used in a wide range of applications, including food and oil processing, condiment processing, snack foods, fruit and vegetable preservation, etc., as well as our daily meals many times also need food additives, it is no exaggeration to say that if there are no food additives, there is no modern food industry.

2. Why do We Need Food Additives?

In the memory of the older generation, the family frying oil will have a smell after a few months, and the salt in the summer is also very easy to clump, but now the oil and salt will not have this phenomenon, which is why? Because modern oil has been added antioxidants, salt has been added anti-caking agent, and antioxidants and anti-caking agent are food additives.
In fact, no matter the industrial production of beverages, cakes, ice cream, or home handmade steamed buns, bread, doughnuts, can be found from the figure of food additives, and food additives to extend the storage period of food, to ensure the safety of food, to provide consumers with more delicious and nutritious food.

3. Correct Understanding of Food Additives

Data show that there are about 2,000 kinds of additives are flooding our lives, 97% of modern food contains additives. Therefore, for food additives, it is necessary to correctly understand, frankly accept, reasonable use, rather than blindly reject food additives.

4. Types of Food Additives

In terms of types, there are 22 types of food additives, the following are the most commonly used.

4.1 Food Thickeners

They are important food additives with a wide range of uses in the food industry, and are used as gelling agents. They can improve the physical properties or texture of the food, so that the food is sticky and smooth in the mouth. Thickeners can also play a role in emulsification and stabilization. Food thickeners play a very important role in maintaining the color, flavor, taste, structure and stability of fluid food, jelly food.
Commonly used thickeners are agar, sodium alginate (algae gum), carrageenan, pectin, xanthan gum, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-Na), pectin.

4.2 Preservatives

Preservatives are very common food additives in life, the most important role is to help kill microorganisms or inhibit their reproduction, so as to reduce food spoilage caused by microorganisms in the process of production, transportation, sales, etc. Commonly used preservatives are sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, sulfur dioxide, lactic acid, etc., generally used in the processing of jams, preserves and other foods.

4.3 Antioxidants

Antioxidants are mainly food additives that help prevent or delay the deterioration of food components due to oxidation. With citric acid, tartaric acid, phosphoric acid and their derivatives have a synergistic effect, can play the effect of a synergist. Commonly used antioxidants are propyl gallate (PG), tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), dibutyl hydroxytoluene (BHT), etc.

4.4 Flavor Enhancers

Flavor enhancers are to supplement or enhance the original flavor of food substances, some foods add flavor enhancers, can present a fresh taste, increase appetite and rich nutrition. China allows the use of amino acid type and nucleotide type flavor enhancers, there are 5'-guanosine disodium, 5'-disodium inosinate, 5'-tasting nucleotide disodium, chili oil resin and other seven kinds.

4.5 Coloring Agents

It can be understood from the name, mainly is to make food coloring and improve the color of food additives, can be divided into natural and synthetic colorants 2, the former is extracted from animals, plants and microorganisms or processed from carotenoids, while the latter is mainly carotenoids.

Conclusion

These food additives in our daily life are used very frequently and can be said to be essential. As long as manufacturers follow the regulations and use food additives reasonably, there is no safety problem, so don't worry too much.

5. Why do not Like Food Additives?

Food additives are not the same as illegal additives. The reason why there is always such news, mainly because some unscrupulous businesses for profit and other reasons, the use of "illegal additives", such as melamine, industrial gelatin, etc., these are not state-approved food additives, which are inedible substances. In addition, some businesses will use food additives to cover up food spoilage, deterioration or quality defects, illegal use of food additives over the limit, which is the emergence of food safety incidents.
In order to be safe, it is recommended that when you buy food, it is best to choose the regular big stores to buy, more reliable.

6. "0 added" Food, Is It Always Safe?

Many people feel that food without food additives, 0 added food is safer. And businesses have taken advantage of this, catering to the psychology of consumers while also being able to sell a good price. But in fact, food additives are mainly used to improve food quality, to prevent food spoilage, as long as the state approved food additives, are after the safety assessment, as long as the standard use, there is no safety problem.
Another point is that some foods simply do not need to add food additives, such as yogurt itself cannot add syrup, color and preservatives, a relatively short shelf life, you can naturally promote "natural, no high fruit syrup, no artificial color, no preservatives.

7. Conclusion

In short, as long as the food additives are approved by the state, safe and used in a reasonable way, they are very safe and do not pose a threat to health, not to say that "0 added" food is necessarily good, so we must treat food additives rationally!