Food Additives Flashcards
FDA Food Additive Definition
any substance added to food for physical or technical effects
- aid in preservation and processing
- improve the quality factors of appearance, flavor, nutritional value, and texture
Legal Food Additive Definition
“any substance with the intended use of which results or may reasonably by expected to result directly or indirectly in its becoming a component or otherwise affecting the characteristics of any food”
What are additives not allowed to be used for?
disguising poor quality
NRC Food Additives Definition
“A substance or a mixture of substances, OTHER THAN A BASIC FOODSTUFF, that is present in a food as a result of an aspect of production, processing, storage, or packaging.”
Food additives intentionally or purposely added to foods
direct food additives
food additives incidentally added to food in very small amounts
indirect food additives
Which department regulates the inclusion of additives to food products subject to interstate commerce or import
FDA
In order to gain approval for the use of an additive, manufacturers must petition the FDA and:
- provide evidence of HARMLESSNESS of an additive at the intended level of use
- Provide data from at least 2 years of the feedings of at least two animals, male and female (dogs and rats)
- Prove safety, usually by utilizing an outside toxicology laboratory for testing
What must manufacturers show about additive?
- safe
- accomplish intended effect
- reasonable certainty of no harm from additive under its PROPOSED USE
If additive wins approval by FDA, how can it be used?
only for use AT SPECIFIC LEVELS IN SPECIFIC PRODUCTS
What does the Delaney Clause state?
- no additive shown to cause cancer in man/lab animals, regardless of dose, may be used in foods
- proposed additives are not acceptable for use in food supply if they have been documented to be carcinogenic by any appropriate test
- required that all food labels must list additives, such as certifiable color additives by the common or usual name
- labels contain valuable information that allows people who may have food or food additive sensitivities to select appropriate food
Nutrition Labeling Education Act (NLEA)
a dye, pigment, or other substance, which is capable of imparting color when added
color additive
used to impart color but does not migrate to food in amounts that will be apparent to the naked eye
colorant
Database of everything added to food in the United States
EAFUS
Generally recognized as safe
GRAS
come into contact with food as part of packaging, holding, or processing but are not intended to be added directly
indirect food additives
Function of preservatives
- increase the shelf life of their products by controlling and preventing deterioration
- may be used to preserve/combat microbial/enzymatic deterioration
- the use of additives at the point of manufacture or processing CANNOT STOP ALL FOODBORNE ILLNESS
Function of Nutritional Additives
- enrich, fortify, restore what is lost in processing
- Ex. vitamin D to fortify milk
- Ex. antioxidants to prevent oxidation
- Ex. Thiamin to enrich grains
4 Types of food additives
- Preservatives
- Nutritional Additives
- Sensory Agents
- Processing Agents
Function of Iodine as a Food Additive
- first food additive in USA
- nutritional function: to treat and prevent goiter (common to the Great Lakes and Pacific Northwest regions of USA)
Major additives used in processing
- Anticaking agents and free-flow agents
- Antimicrobials
- Antioxidants
- Bleaching and Maturing Agents
- Bulking Agents
- Coloring Agents
- Curing Agents
- Dough Conditioners/Dough Improvers
- Edible Films
- Emulsifiers
- Enzymes
- Fat Replacers
- Firming Agents
- Flavoring Agents
- Fumigants and Humectants
- Irradiation and Lubricants
- Leavening Agents
- Nutrient Supplements
- pH Control Substances
- Preservatives
- Pre- and Pro-biotics
- Propellants
- Sequestrants
- Stabilizers and Thickeners
- Surface-Active Agents
- Sweeteners and Alternative Sweeteners
Function of Anticaking Agents/Free-Flow Agents
- added to powdered food
- inhibit/prevent lumping/caking
- Ex. silicates: aluminum calcium silicate, calcium silicate, silicon dioxide, tricalcium phosphate
Function of Antimicrobials
- inhibit the growth of pathogenic or spoilage organisms
- Ex. salt, organic acid, nitrites and nitrates (meat), sulfites and sulfur dioxide (wine and juice)
Function of Antioxidants
- combine with available oxygen to halt oxidation reactions
- prevent/inhibit oxidation of unsat fat/oils
- prevent enzymatic oxidative browning
- Naturally occuring: Abscorbic acid, tocopherols, citric acid, phenolic compounds
- Synthetic: BHA, BHT, TBHQ, Propyl gallate, used alone or in combination
Function of Bleaching and Maturing Agents
- added to flour during or after milling process to whiten and/or speed up aging process
- Benzoyl Peroxide: bleach yellowish carotenoid to white
- Chlorine dioxide: mature flour for better baking performance
- Bromates and hydrogen peroxide: whiten milk for certain types of cheese manufacture
Function of Bulking Agents
- small amounts provide SMOOTHNESS and CREAMINESS that supplement viscosity and thickening properties of HYDROCOLLOIDS
- provide oily/fatty mouthfeel
- Ex. sorbitol, glycerol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates
FD&C
- food, drug, and cosmetic usage
- applied to food color additives approved by the FDA
-FD&C classifications by initials, shade, number (FD&C Red #40)
Function of Coloring Agents
- offset color loss
- correct natural variations
- enhance color
- provide visual appeal
- provide color to foods that would otherwise be colorless
Concerns of Coloring Agents
- ADHD
- Food allergies
- Brain cell damage
Natural Sources of Coloring Agents
- plant/mineral/animal
- exempt from FDA certification
- still subject to safety testing approval for use in food
- Ex. anthocyanins, carotenoids, chlorophylls
Synthetic Coloring Agents
- Less expensive than natural color
- more intense, better coloring power, more uniform
- more stable when exposed to environmental conditions: heat and light
- each batch must be tested by both manufacturers and FDA prior to gaining approval
- FDA permitted 9 “certifiable” colors since 1906 —> 7 approved for food
- Certification mandatory in 1983 with authority for testing passed to USDA!!!!!
Definition of “certifiable” food color
color additives that are synthetic, or man-made, not natural
Function of Curing Agents
- imparts color and flavor to foods
- controls Clostridium botulinum bacteria
- inhibit growth of C. perfringens and Staphylococcus aureus + other nonpathogens during storage of cured meats
Concerns with Curing Agents
- Nitrites react with certain amines to produce carcinogenic nitrosamines
Function of Dough Conditioners/Dough Improvers
- Modify the starch and protein components of flour
- promote the agin process and improve both dough handling and baking qualities = more uniform and increased volume
- Ex. ammonium chloride
potassium bromate
diammonium phosphate
calcium/sodium stearoyl lactylate