Food Additives Flashcards
Why use additives?
- Large scale production
- Transport from all over the country and abroad
- People cook less, ↑ prepared ingredients and meals
- Expectation for food to last longer
- To maintain consistently high quality and safety
Define Food Additives
Any substance not normally consumes as food in itself and not normally used as a characteristic ingredient of food, whether or not it has nutritive value a
Name the legislation/ regulation for food additives
Food Additives, Flavouring, Enzymes and Extraction Solvents (England) Regulations 2013
What do regulations on food additives provide
The Regulation provides for:
a) Lists of approved food additives
b) Conditions of use for food additives used in foods
c) Rules on the labelling on food additives
d) Specific rules on the “carry-over” principle
e)Purity criteria to be established for permitted food additives.
For an additive to be legal to use what should it not contain/do
Should not present safety concerns
Should be technologically justified
Should not mislead the consumer
Explain what the carry-over rule is?
Certain food are not permitted to contain additives by way of carry-over.
However, if an unprocessed food e.g. fresh fillet of fish, is coated with batter, the fish and the batter would be considered separate ingredients falling with the different food categories.
The batter would be permitted to contain all Group 1 additives, even through most Group 1 additives are not permitted in fresh fish
Name the organisations that authorises the safety of food additives
Scientific Committee on Food (SCF)
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
Explain what the labelling requirements are for authorised food colours (Article 18)
Name or E number of the colours(s) : may have an adverse activity and attention in children
Give the 3 reasons that would allow food additives to become authorised
There is a technological need for their use
They do not mislead the consumer
They present no health hazards for consumers
Explain what Accepted daily intake (ADI) is
Accepted daily intake (ADI) = max amount that can be ingested daily in the diet over a lifetime, without any negative effects in health
Usually expressed as a range of 0-x milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight per day
How many safe food additives are there?
314
Example and give examples of natural, nature identical and artificial food additives are
Natural - found naturally in food (beetroot as colouring agents in sweets)
Nature identical (man-made version) synthetic identical copy of natural substances (benzoic acid E210 as antibacterial and antifungal preservatives)
Artificial: synthetic compounds, not found naturally (azodicarbonamide)
Name 4 functions of food additives
Improves food taste
Makes food more appealing
Enrich food with nutrients
Food safety and preservation
What are the 6 main groups of food additives and their E number ranges
Colours E100 - E180
Preservatives - E200 - E285
Antioxidants - E300 - E321
Sweeteners - E420-1 and E950-E969
Emulsifiers etc E322 and E400-E1103
Others E260-E1521
Benefits of Antioxidants
Act as preservatives by inhibiting the effect of oxygen on food prevents food from becoming rancid or changing colour
Why are sweeteners used as food additives and give the benefits of using sweeteners
To impart a sweet taste and flavour or as a table-top sweetener
Benefits:
Help lower energy intake
Reduce risk of dental caries
Diabetes – wider range of foods, improved palatability
Low appetite in elderly people – improved palatability
Name the 2 types of sweeteners
Bulk
Intense
What are bulk and intense sweeteners?
Bulk - Occurs naturally in a variety of berries and fruits (apples and blackberries etc)
Intense - Used as tabletop sweetener, in food, drinks and toothpaste
In food items that contain intense sweeteners what chemical must they be labelled with
Source of phenylalanine
Explain what emulsifiers, natural and artificial emulsifiers are and give examples
Emulsifiers: Molecules with both an hydrophobic and an hydrophilic part.
Small droplets of oil are surrounded by emulsifier, which maintains it in suspension and avoids the separation of water and oil.
Natural emulsifiers: Lipoproteins or phospholipids (e.g. egg yolk, the oldest emulsifier - rich in lecithin).
Artificial ones: different esters and monoglycerides.
Prevent growth of moulds and maintain food appearance of creams and sauces.
Explain where the following additives are used in/for
Glazing agents
Flavourings Humectants
Thickeners
Stabilisers
Propellants
Glazing agents: Used to create a protective coat and to impart a polished surface on the food
Flavourings: Added in small amounts to food to impart taste
Humectants: Act as moisturizers, attract water. typically used to prevent creams from drying out
Thickeners: Increased food viscosity by absorbing the fluid and increasing its thickness
Stabilisers: food binders, increase the stability and thickness of food, smoothen its texture and give a uniform nature to the product
Propellants: These are sealed under pressure in an aerosol food container and help to expel the food from its container
How should food which contain sweeteners be labelled?
Must show the statement ‘with sweeteners(s)’ close to main product name
If both sugar and sweetener: ‘with sugar and sweetener(s)’
With aspartame: warning contains a source of phenylalanine
