Topic 5 - Food Additives Flashcards by Sophie Wade

Why is wax important on apples?

because it prevents the apple from drying up

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What is morpholine?

Added to make the wax easier to apply
- In the body, morpholine combines with another naturally occurring chemical to form nitroso-morpholine
• Carcinogenic in high amounts
- But in the amounts we eat it its not dangerous

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Where are nitrates found present?

naturally present in cabbage and form nitrosamines (carcinogenic in test animals)

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What agencies control our food?

Canada: Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
USA: FDA

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What did the Romans use to make their wine sweeter?

lead acetate

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What did the Romans use to make vegetables greener?

copper salt

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What did the Romans use to extend their flour?

“Plaster of Paris” CaSO4

- Baker used arsenic oxide when he ran out

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What do Cassava roots and lima beans contain?

They contain naturally occurring cyanide compounds

- Must prepare food properly in order to remove cyanide

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What are Sassafra leaves

Used as a cleansing agent to make tea

Sassafra leaves contain safrole which is a potential carcinogen
Safrole was banned from root beer

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What is the RDA for salt?

2g/day

- Global average is 3.95g/day (nearly 2X recommended)

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What is the most widely added ingredient to food?

Sugar, and then salt

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Is salt more prevalent in natural or prepared food?

Prepared

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What happens when you reduce the size of the sodium crystal?

= increase the surface area = more sodium will come in contact with tongue and you will taste it more

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What is Monosodium glutamate (MSG)?

nasty ingredient in Lipton soup

Flavour enhancing property of MSG came from seaweed
Natural glutamine combines with sodium from the ocean to give MSG which made food taste better

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How many chemical additives do we consume per year?

~ 1 pound per year

- Roughly 2000 chemicals, THUS amount of each chemical per day is extremely small)

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What was the 5th taste that Kikunae Ikaeda discovered?

Umami (in addition to sour, sweet, salty, bitter)

MSG brings out this umami taste
It improves the taste of food to which it is actually added
Specifically, high protein food

How does MSG improve the taste of our food?

It increases salivation

- Makes our taste buds more sensitive

What is CRS (Chinese Restaurant Syndrome) / Kwok’s Disease?

After eating MSG, they suffer chest pains and start sweating (symptoms of a prelude of heart attack)
MSG was widely used in Chinese Oriental restaurants

What is glutamic acid?

The precursor of MSG
Form MSG in the presence of salt
Cheese, tomatoes, eggs, bread

Explain how MSG is produced by bacteria in the lab

Bacteria are fed with molasses which convert it to glutamic acid which is treated with sodium hydroxide to make MSG

Why is MSG not responsible for allergic reactions?

It does not involve the immune system, only ADVERSE reactions are associated with it

What is kokumi?

A new taste to describe fullness of food
Cheese, foie gras, liver, garlic, onions, milk, scallops
• The same company that makes MSG has developed a flavour additive that gives the kokumi taste
• Pinot Noir from the US has a Kokumi taste

What fat is used in stuffed butterball turkey?

Margarine, not butter

What is more saturated than butter?

Palm and palm oil

What salt used for?

Taste and preservatives

How does salt kill micro-organisms?

By osmosis - Osmosis is the movement of a solvent through a semi-permeable membrane from a region of low [solute] to high [solute] - Water inside bacteria (low) will flow out into solution (high) and bacteria become dehydrated and die

How do cucumbers become pickles?

Cucumbers are put in a brine solution (high salt)

How can sugar be used as a preservative?

Through osmosis | - High sugar concentration causes bacteria to die

What is in regular ketchup?

Fresh ripe tomatoes, sugar, etc… - NO preservatives and MSG - Ketchup is 30% sugar so obviously you don’t need a preservative

How can smoke act as a preservative?

• Smoke can also act as a preservative because it dehydrates the fish and also toxic chemicals in smoke prevent growth of bacteria - Fish can be smoked, smoked meat in MTL - Become red when smoked = red herring

How many cases and deaths per year are caused by food poisoning?

• In Canada, there are 6.8 million cases per year and 40 deaths • In the US, there are 48 million cases per year and 3000 deaths per year - Difference in numbers is because some people develop a stomach bug for 24 hours and don’t report it

Why is the incidence of food poisoning is still higher than what it should be?

- Increased meat consumption - Increased lifespan (the older we get, worse immune systems) - Increased travelling (we bring in bugs from other countries) - Industrial farming (cattle grow up in crowded condition where its more likely they contract an infection) - Use of antibiotics in animal feed - In the US, 70% of antibiotics used are for animal feed

What are antibiotics in animal feeds used for?

- Used to prevent the spread of diseases and animals will grow faster if given antibiotics - Important when animals are growing in crowded conditions (disease would spread very quickly)

What is the concern around antibiotics in animal feeds?

• Concern is NOT that the antibiotics will remain in the chicken or animal - BUT instead that the bacteria that remain in the meet are resistant to the antibiotics - Consume chicken with resistant microbes --> become sick --> take antibiotics --> DO NOT WORK • There is a movement to ban the use of Antibiotics in cattle and chicken

What is sodium phosphate?

an ingredient in turkey which is used to retain moisture in the turkey

What is STP (sodium tripolyphosphate)?

In Kraft Dinner AND is used as a cleaning agent - In food, it retains moisture - In cleaning agent, it ties up calcium and makes water less hard

What is the difference between flavour and artificial flavour?

- Flavour: ingredients added come from natural sources (milk or lactose component) - Artificial flavour: comes from synthetic sources

What is artificial smoke flavour?

- Produced by passing smoke through a water solution where some of the chemicals are picked up (non-toxic) - Toxic flavours are not absorbed in the water