Additives & Preservatives used in food processing & preservation

ABSTRACT

Food additives are compounds that are additional to food in order to preserve or improve the
food's quality, flavor or texture. For food preservation, some additives have been used for
millennia. Samples include salt, sugar, and sulphur dioxide.

Food additives can be made synthetically or from plants, animals, minerals, or a combination of
these. They are purposefully introduced to food to carry out specific technical functions that
consumers frequently take for granted. There are thousands of food additives in use, and each
one is intended to serve a specific purpose in enhancing the safety or appeal of food. Based on
their purpose, the WHO and FAO divide food additives into three general categories.

Food additives should only be used when they are technologically necessary, do not deceive
customers, and perform a specific technological function, such as maintaining food's nutritional
value or improving food stability.
 INTRODUCTION

Food additives have been developed over time to meet the needs of food production since
producing food on a large scale differs significantly from producing it on a small scale at home.
In order to keep processed food safe and in good shape during its journey from factories to
warehouses and retailers, and ultimately to customers, additives are necessary.

Any of the many chemical compounds added to meals to generate certain desired effects are
considered food additives. Foods have been preserved and made more pleasant with additives
like salt, spices, and sulfites since the dawn of time. The 20th century saw a rise in food
processing, which required both an increase in the use of and new types of food additives.
Without food additives, many modern products, such as low-calorie, snack, and ready-to-eat
convenience foods, would not be commercially feasible.

Food additives can be divided into the following four categories: preservatives, processing aids,
nutritional additives, and sensory agents. Due to the fact that many additives fit into more than
one category, these divisions are not exact. Emulsifier, food coloring, nutritional supplement, for
further details on additives.

Nutritional additives are used to add nutrients to food substitutes or to fortify or enrich certain
foods to make up for dietary deficits or nutrients lost or degraded during production. Food
fortification began in 1924 when iodine was first added to table salt to prevent goiter. Vitamin
addition is a common practice to boost the nutritional value of certain foods.

For instance Certain B vitamins are included in wheat, baked goods, and pasta, whereas vitamin
C is included in fruit juices, cereals, dairy products, and confections. Dairy and cereal products
frequently include vitamins A and D. Dietary fibre, the essential fatty acid linoleic acid, minerals
and other nutrients are further nutrient-dense additions.

Emulsifiers are used to keep one liquid evenly dispersed in another, such as oil in water. A long-
chain fatty acid typically serves as the hydrophobic portion of an emulsifying agent's basic
structure. The hydrophilic portion, which can be charged or uncharged, can be either charged or
uncharged as well. A dispersion of tiny oil droplets is created when the hydrophilic and
hydrophobic portions of the emulsifier dissolve in the aqueous and oil phases, respectively.
Thus, emulsifiers create and maintain oil-in-water emulsions (such as mayonnaise), evenly
distribute oil-soluble flavorings throughout a product, stop the production of big ice crystals in
frozen foods.

There are numerous uses for stabilizers and thickeners in food. The most common
polysaccharides for stabilizing and thickening are proteins like gelatin or starches like gums. The
primary function of these ingredients is to act as thickening or gelling agents, which increase the
finished product's viscosity. To stabilize emulsions, these chemicals either bind to the outer
surfaces of oil droplets or increase the viscosity of the water phase.

Similar mechanisms govern the creation and stabilization of foam in food products, with the
exception that the gas phase takes the place of the oil phase. The substances can be used to
encapsulate flavoring agents and function to prevent the production of ice or sugar crystals in
meals.

Preservatives

Food items are shielded from a variety of enzymatic activities that encourage deterioration
during processing and storage by chelating, or sequestering, agents. These substances act as
cofactors for specific enzymes.

Antioxidants

The various chemical elements included in food may oxidize by either adding oxygen atoms or
removing hydrogen atoms. The two main kinds of oxidation that lead to food degradation are
enzyme-catalyzed oxidation and autoxidation of unsaturated fatty acids.

Unsaturated fatty acids undergo autoxidation when molecular oxygen and carbon-carbon double
bonds come into contact (O2). Free radicals, which are the by-products of autoxidation and are
very reactive, gives oxidative rancidity its off-flavors and off-odors. The rate of autoxidation can
be slowed down by antioxidants that interact with free radicals (also known as free radical
scavengers). These antioxidants include synthetic substances.
Some enzymes may also be involved in the oxidation of a variety of dietary components.
Byproducts from these oxidation reactions could compromise the food's quality. For example,
phenolases catalyze the oxidation of certain chemicals when fruits and vegetables like apples,
bananas, and potatoes are cut or bruised.

Melanin is a dark pigment that results from these oxidation processes, also referred to as
enzymatic browning. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which binds free oxygen, as well as citric acid
and sulfites, which inactivate the enzymes, are examples of antioxidants that block enzyme-
catalyzed oxidation.

Antimicrobials

To suppress the growth of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, antimicrobials are most
usually used in conjunction with other preservation techniques, such as refrigeration. Sodium
chloride (NaCl), usually referred to as table salt, was perhaps the first antibacterial substance
ever discovered. Organic acids including acetic, benzoic, propionic, and ascorbic acids are used
in products with low pH levels to fight bacteria.

Colorants

Food's color is an essential sensory attribute; it has a direct impact on how consumers perceive a
product's flavor and quality. The deterioration of colors in the raw materials during food
preparation is a possibility. Additionally, coloring compounds must be added to some designed
products like beverages, ice cream, and snack meals. In order to create a homogeneous product
from raw materials with different color intensities, colorants are frequently required. Natural or
synthetic colorants are categorized as food additives. While synthetic colorants are mostly
chemical compounds with a petroleum foundation, natural colorants are sourced from sources
that are plant, animal, and mineral-based.

Extracts from plant tissues make up the majority of natural colorants. There are a number of
issues with using these extracts in the food business, including inconsistent color intensities,
instability when exposed to heat and light, fluctuating supply, reactivity with other food
ingredients, and the development of secondary flavors and fragrances. They must be coupled
with an emulsifier since many of them are insoluble in water and need to be distributed evenly
throughout the food product.

Commercially accessible artificial dyes come in powder, paste, granule, or solution form and are
water-soluble. Aluminum hydroxide is used to treat the colorants to create specialized
preparations known as lakes. They contain between 10 and 40 percent synthetic color. For usage
in dry and oil-based goods, lakes are perfect. Light, heat, pH, and reducing agents all alter the
stability of synthetic colorants.

Numerous dyes have been chemically created and given the go-ahead for use in various nations.
These pigments are identified using unique numbering schemes that are nation-specific.

All artificial colorants have undergone thorough toxicological testing. Erythrosine all exhibit low
absorption and toxicity. Allure Red AC causes psych toxicity at extremely high concentrations
(more than 10%), and tartrazine can produce hypersensitivity reactions in some people. Not all
nations agree to the use of synthetic colorants.

Flavorants

Some food molecules cause the chemical senses of taste and smell to be activated, giving food its
flavour. The taste buds' specialized cells are in charge of receiving flavors. The five basic tastes
—sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami—can be detected in different parts of the tongue, mouth,
and throat. Certain flavour compounds cause distinct taste cells to respond (e.g., sweeteners).

The flavoring compounds in food excite particular olfactory (smell) cells in the nasal cavity in
addition to the fundamental tastes. These cells can pick up on more than 10,000 different stimuli,
which allows them to precisely control how food tastes.

A flavour addition is a single molecule and collection of chemicals, whether they be from a
natural source or from synthetic one, that provides all or part of the flavour of a particular meal.
These additives replace flavour that is lost during manufacturing and help produce new products.
Of the more than 1,200 chemicals used as food additives, tastes make up the majority, which
make up the largest group. The sources of natural flavorings include plants, spices etc.
Artificial flavorings are concoctions of synthetic chemicals that resemble natural flavorings
chemically. Because natural flavorings are expensive, hard to find, or have insufficient power,
artificial flavorings are frequently employed in food products.

In order to enhance or compliment a dish's natural flavor, additives known as flavour enhancers
are often added to food. The concept of enhancing flavour first arose in Asia, when chefs would
add seaweed to soup stocks to give some foods a richer flavour. Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
was the first flavour enhancer to be used commercially. It was determined that the amino acid L-
glutamate is the taste-enhancing component of seaweed. L-glutamate is noted for having a rich
flavour known as umami.

Sweeteners

Sucrose, or table sugar, serves as the standard for comparing how sweet different sweeteners are.
As sucrose provides energy in the form of carbs, it is regarded as a nutritious sweetener. Other
healthy sweeteners include glucose, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, and sugar
alcohols.

Efforts to chemically manufacture sweeteners started. Since then, several synthetic substances
known as "nonnutritive sweeteners" have been created that offer either few or no calories or
nutrients to the diet.

These sweeteners can be used in relatively tiny amounts in food products because they have a
significantly greater sweetening capacity than sucrose. In addition to saccharin, cyclamates,
aspartame, and acesulfame K are the most commonly used nonnutritive sweeteners.

Specific protein molecules known as receptors, are responsible for transmitting the experience of
sweetness. All sweeteners work by interacting with these cell-surface receptors. It's possible that
the nonnutritive sweeteners' greater sweetness compared to sucrose is the result of their
synthesized chemicals' tighter or prolonged attachment to receptors.

The majority of low-calorie foods, such as baked goods, confectioneries, dairy products, sweets,
soft drinks, and tabletop inducements, are produced using nonnutritive sweeteners. They are also
used in chewing gum to reduce the incidence of dental cavities and as a carbohydrate alternative
for those with diabetes mellitus. Contrary to this nonnutritive inducements don't give products
viscosity or texture; hence bulking agents like polydextrose are frequently needed during
production.

Health Concerns

Chemical additions to foods and other products have increased dramatically over the past few
decades. Plastics of every kind we've produced are employed in many applications. To keep food
fresh, preservatives are added. To make foods appear more appetizing, we add chemicals to
them. To keep food fresh, we have created food packaging. The range of applications for
chemicals that we have created and used is endless. We add chemicals to lotions and cosmetics
to make them feel, look, and smell beautiful.

Certain dietary additives can cause responses in certain people, including hives and diarrhea.
This does not imply that all foods containing additives should be viewed suspiciousl, since all
foods include chemicals.

Food additives are viewed as a serious food concern by many people. Food additives, however,
would rank last in terms of health risks, after environmental contaminants, naturally occurring
poisons, improper eating and hygiene practices, and food-borne microbes (like salmonella).

Prior to being approved for usage in the industry, food additives and their metabolites must pass
stringent testing. In order to ascertain the potential acute, short-term, and long-term harmful
effects of these compounds, feeding experiments are conducted utilizing animal species, these
investigations track how the substances affect the test animals' behavior, growth, mortality, blood
chemistry, organs, reproduction, offspring, and tumour formation.

The results of the toxicological evaluation of the nonnutritive sweeteners have been conflicting.
The development of bladder cancers in rats fed diets high in saccharin and cyclamates has been
proven. Due to these discoveries, cyclamates have been banned in several countries, including
the US, and the use of saccharin comes with a warning about potential health risks.

However, no link between the consumption of these sweeteners and human bladder cancer has
been found. As there is no evidence of a possibility for cancer in animal tests, aspartame and
acesulfame K have both been declared to be relatively safe additives.

There is now a completely new level of food contamination. Even fresh fruits and vegetables
have a ton of chemicals and preservatives to maintain the taste, freshness, and color of the item.
It is imperative to steer clear of junk food given the rising usage of chemicals and preservatives.
Fresh fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, are unavoidable given their importance to diet. In
this blog, we talk about the illnesses brought on by excessive preservative use in order to assist
you understand the negative consequences of preservatives.

Preservatives are created artificially and are also synthetic in origin. 'Additive' food labels are
attached to food products that contain artificial preservatives. Jams, various spreads, juice
concentrates, ketchup, and baked goods are all laden with artificial preservatives. This is the
rationale for the importance of carefully reading the food label before making a purchase.

The artificial preservatives that are used to prevent food from being contaminated are the ones
that cause health issues. These preservatives are synthetic and manufactured artificially. On food
labels, these are frequently identified as additives.

The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases has increased, and one of the key contributing factors
to the rise in heart problems is the usage of preservatives in food products. Food preservatives
may impair the heart tissues, according to research done by InChem. Consuming foods that still
have preservative residue on their surface increases the risk of heart disease.

One of the worst consequences preservatives have on food goods is their propensity to transform
into carcinogens. Several food products include nitrosamines, a preservative made up of nitrites
and nitrates that react with gastric acids to produce compounds that cause cancer.

Avoid eating snacks or meals that are high in nitrites and nitrates if you want to avoid eating this
preservative.
The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and WHO are in charge of
evaluating the dangers those food additives pose to human health. An impartial, international
expert scientific committee called the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
conducts risk assessments of food additives (JECFA).

Food additives that have passed a JECFA safety evaluation were judged to not significantly
endanger consumer health may be utilized. This holds true regardless of whether the food
additives are synthetic or natural, Using a national evaluation or the JECFA assessment, national
authorities can allow the use of food additives in specific amounts for specific foods.

JECFA evaluations are founded on scientific analyses of all pertinent biochemical, toxicological,
and other data currently available on a particular additive; these data include required animal
testing, research studies, and human observations. The toxicological testing required by JECFA
includes acute, short-term, and long-term research that determine how the food additive is
absorbed, transported, and excreted as well as any potential harmful effects of the chemical or its
metabolites at particular exposure levels.

The first step in deciding if a food additive can be used without having negative effects is to
determine the appropriate daily intake (ADI). The ADI is an estimation of the daily intake of an
additive without causing harm to one's health over the course of a lifetime in food or water.
 CONCLUSION

These are just a few of the negative consequences preservatives have on your health. It is advised
to pay close attention to your diet in light of these negative effects. As far as possible, stay away
from junk food, and wash your fruits and veggies gently. Use the vegetable and fruit cleaner to
clean the food instead of washing it with plain water to help get rid of chemicals and pesticides
that may be on it.

Food items are preserved with preservatives. These preservatives aid in extending the shelf life
of food products and prolonging the flavour of meals. Yet, not all food preservatives are harmful
to your health. Natural preservatives are safe for your health and are used to keep food fresh.
They are not combined with synthetic materials, and their chemical makeup is not changed,
which accounts for this.

The artificial preservatives used to delay food contamination are the ones that cause health
issues. These preservatives are synthetic in origin and artificially created. They are frequently
listed on food labels as additives.
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