Food Additives

Food additives are commonly used in foods to perform a number of functions. They are used to preserve food and retard spoilage, to improve nutritional value and to make food more appealing. Food additives make food more convenient, especially for the on-the-go consumer! Additives are used in foods for five main reasons:

Preserving and Retarding Spoilage

Antioxidants are added to food products to retard spoilage. Mold, air, bacteria and other substances can cause food to spoil. Bacteria can also cause food borne illnesses. Antioxidants prevent fats and oils in food products from becoming rancid and prevent fresh fruits from turning brown when exposed to air.

Improving Nutritional Value

Vitamins and minerals are added to food to improve nutritional value. They are added to a variety of products, including milk, flour and cereals to help reduce malnutrition among consumers. Products containing added nutrients must be appropriately labeled.

Increasing Appeal

Spices and flavors are added to food to enhance taste, leavening agents are added to make baked goods rise, colors are added to enhance appearance, emulsifiers are added to give products a consistent texture, stabilizers and thickeners are added to produce a smooth and uniform texture, anti-caking agents are added to help substances, such as salt, flow freely rather than stay in one clump and other additives are added to modify acidity and alkalinity of foods.

Additives may be natural or artificial. Natural additives are manufactured from natural sources. Examples of natural additives are lecithin derived from soybeans or corn and food coloring derived from beets. Artificial additives are often used when a natural additive cannot be found or when they are more economical to use.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must approve food additives before they can be used in the United States. The safety of any proposed additive must be investigated before they it is approved.

Food Colors

Food colors are dyes that impart color to food products. In the US, color additives are classified as certifiable or exempt from certification. Certifiable colors are man-made. They are tested by both the manufacturer and the FDA before they are approved or certified for use. There are nine certified colors approved for use in the US, including FD&C Yellow No.6.

Color additives that are exempt from certification are derived from natural sources such as vegetables, minerals or animals, and man-made counterparts of natural derivatives. They include caramel color, which is used in sauces, soft drinks, baked goods and other foods. These too are tested before approval for use is granted.

Certifiable color additives are used widely because their coloring ability is greater than most colors derived from natural products. This enables food producers to use smaller quantities, which is more economic. In addition, certifiable color additives are more stable, provide better color uniformity and blend together easily to provide a wide range of hues. Certifiable color additives generally do not impart undesirable flavors to foods, while color derived from foods such as beets and cranberries can produce such unintended effects.

Certifiable color additives are available for use in water-soluble form, oil-soluble form, as powders, granules, liquids or other special purpose forms. They are used in a wide variety of products including beverages, dry mixes, baked goods, confections, dairy products, coated tablets, hard candies and chewing gums.

The flexibility of using additives makes it easier to produce food products with long shelf life, appealing taste and color and with high nutritious value. It also poses a challenge for Muslims since the processes used to produce the additives and the sources of the additives may introduce haram ingredients into an otherwise Halal product. For those with allergies, the use of additives may pose additional concerns, since they are present in small quantities and may not be listed very descriptively.

(Extracted from an FDA/IFIS January 1992 brochure on Food Additives.)