Food Additives

Food additives are added to food products to enhance processing, texture, flavor or other characteristics. The number of processed foods has increased dramatically in the 20^th century, introducing many more food additives of both natural and artificial origins.

According to the United States Food and Drug Administration, food additives are legally defined as, “any substance the intended use which results or may reasonably be expected to result-directly or indirectly-in its becoming a component or otherwise affecting the characteristics of any food.” Examples include flavoring extracts, syrups, emulsifiers, anti-oxidants, fortifiers and other substances. 

Additives serve many different types of functions including air entrapment, maintaining flow properties, adding fragrance, acting as binding agents, demulsifying, encapsulation systems, fermentation, flavoring agents or flavor enhancers, antimicrobial agents, preservatives, sweeteners, flowabiltiy agents, retaining moisture, pH modifiers, and buffering agents. Food additives can also serve other, unlisted functions as well.

Some of the most common reasons food additives have become accepted is because they maintain product consistency, improve or maintain nutritional value by adding vitamins and minerals, preservatives maintain palatability and wholesomeness, to control acidity or alkalinity, and to enhance flavor or color. 

Food additives can be artificial or synthetic, natural, inorganic chemicals, or organic chemicals or polymers. Artificial additives and chemicals are man-made. Natural food and chemical agents derive from natural sources and undergo minimal processing. 

Inorganic food additives include inorganic chemicals or salt. Organic chemical food additives include alcohols, alfol esters, glycol ethers, halogenated hydrocarbons, organometallics, silicones, oils, greases, petroleum distillates, waxes and other hydrocarbon compounds.

Food additives can be distributed in different forms including bulk, dispersion, liquid, and power methods. Bulk form food additives can come in the form of pellets, flakes, chunks, and crushed materials or granules. Food additives are also available in dispersion form; similarly, colloid and emulsion forms are also available.

Liquid and powder form food additives are another option. Liquid chemical agents or additives in liquid form can also come dissolved in a solution. Powder food additives are finely divided or powdered forms of chemicals, minerals, and other raw materials. Other, unlisted forms of food additives may also be available.

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