Do you know about food additives? Are they really safe and harmless?

According to the definition in the "Standard for the Use of Food Additives GB 2760-2014" (hereinafter referred to as the Standard) promulgated by the National Health and Family Planning Commission (now the National Health Commission) in December 2014, food additives refer to "artificial synthetic or natural substances added to food to improve food quality and color, aroma and taste, as well as for the needs of preservation, freshness and processing technology. Food flavorings, base substances in gum-based candies, and processing aids for the food industry are also included."

The standard stipulates that food additives can be used in the following situations:

From this we can see that food additives are substances added to food to improve the appearance, properties, quality of food, or to preserve freshness, prevent corrosion, and facilitate food processing, transportation, storage, etc. They can be either natural substances or artificially synthesized substances.

The emergence of food additives has greatly promoted the development of the food industry and is known as the soul of the modern food industry. Without coagulants, tofu cannot solidify; without leavening agents, bread, cakes, fried dough sticks, etc. are difficult to be fluffy, soft, and crispy; without emulsifiers, candy, chocolate, and ice cream are difficult to stabilize; without preservatives, food will quickly spoil, and storage and transportation will be restricted; without anti-caking agents, salt, milk powder, and instant coffee will easily clump together... It can be said that our lives are inseparable from food additives.

As people's living standards improve, they pay more and more attention to food safety. Various "additive-free" and "pure natural" foods are becoming more and more popular, while food additives are regarded as the enemy of food safety. Are food additives really that scary?

Let's look at the basic requirements for the use of food additives in the standard:

The first one is "should not cause any health hazards to the human body". The standard specifies in detail the function of each food additive, the range of foods in which it can be used, and the maximum amount (or maximum residue) in each food. Some special ones also specify the method of use. Therefore, it is safe to use food additives strictly in accordance with the scope and amount specified in the standard, and there is no need to worry.

Food additives may cause harm only when they are used in excess or beyond the scope. As we all know, excess refers to exceeding the maximum usage or residual amount specified; beyond the scope of use refers to exceeding the types of food that the additive is allowed to be used in. For example, using bleaching agents that are only used for bleaching dried fruits and dried fruits for bleaching flour and steamed bread is an over-scope use that may cause harm to the human body. What is scary is not the food additives themselves, but the abuse of food additives.

The notorious "Diaobaikuai", "Sudan Red", "Melamine", "Clenbuterol", "Opium" and so on are not included in the list of food additives at all. These are illegal additives and are not allowed to be used in food. Many people mistakenly think that these are food additives, so they hate food additives, turn pale at the mention of them, and avoid them as much as possible.

Reasonable use of food additives has brought a lot of convenience to our lives and greatly improved our living standards. We don't need to be afraid of food additives. But it should be noted that when buying food, you should try to go to regular supermarkets to buy products produced by regular manufacturers. Don't buy three-no products just for the sake of cheapness. After all, there are still cases where illegal merchants abuse food additives or even use illegal additives.

The standard divides food additives into 22 categories according to their functions, namely acidity regulators, anticaking agents, defoaming agents, antioxidants, bleaching agents, leavening agents, base substances in gum-based candies, colorants, color protectants, emulsifiers, enzyme preparations, flavor enhancers, flour treatment agents, filming agents, moisture retainers, preservatives, stabilizers and coagulants, sweeteners, thickeners, food flavorings, processing aids for the food industry and others. Each category of food additives contains a variety of different substances, and the same substance may have multiple functions. Next, the senior sister will introduce you to some commonly used food additives.

1. Preservatives

Everyone is familiar with preservatives. They are widely present in all kinds of foods. They can prevent food from spoiling and extend the storage period of food. When it comes to preservatives, the first thing that comes to my mind is potassium sorbate, which is too common. In the supermarket, if you casually look at the ingredient list of a food or the ingredient list of food additives, you will most likely see potassium sorbate. Potassium sorbate has a strong antibacterial effect, is easy to obtain, inexpensive, and is much less toxic than other preservatives. It is widely used in the preservation of various foods such as vegetables and fruits, ham and sausage, aquatic products, soy sauce and pickles, bread and pastries, canned beverages, candies and preserves. Its use method is extremely flexible. It can be added directly to food, sprayed or soaked. It is the preferred food preservative for many companies.

In addition to potassium sorbate, sorbic acid, benzoic acid and its sodium salt, propionic acid and its sodium and calcium salts, nisin, sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, sodium nitrite, potassium nitrite, carbon dioxide, etc. are also commonly used as preservatives.

2. Bleach

Bleaching agents are substances that can destroy or inhibit coloring factors in food, causing it to fade or prevent it from browning. Using bleaching agents can improve the appearance and color of food. Common food bleaching agents include sulfur dioxide, sodium metabisulfite, potassium metabisulfite, sodium sulfite, etc. They play an important role in the bleaching of dried fruits, candied fruits, dried vegetables, pickled vegetables, dried edible fungi and algae, bean curd sticks and other foods. Some bleaching agents can also inhibit enzyme activity and microbial reproduction, play an antioxidant and preservative role, and can be said to have multiple functions.

3. Antioxidants

Antioxidants can prevent or delay the oxidation and decomposition of food ingredients and deterioration, and improve food stability. Many of the above-mentioned bleaching agents can also be used as antioxidants. In addition, tea polyphenols, calcium ascorbate, sodium ascorbate, ascorbyl palmitate, etc. are also common antioxidants. Tea polyphenols are often used as antioxidants for foods such as marinated meat products, smoked and grilled meat, meat enema, plant protein beverages, and puffed foods; calcium ascorbate is often used for the antioxidant effect of peeled or pre-cut fresh fruits, peeled or diced and shredded vegetables, and concentrated fruit and vegetable juices (pulps); ascorbyl palmitate is often used for the antioxidant effect of milk powder, bread, instant rice and flour products, and ready-to-eat cereals.

4. Colorants

Colorants can give or improve the color of food, making it more attractive, and are also called food pigments. For example, caramel color is widely used in coloring foods such as soy sauce, vinegar, jam, fruit and vegetable juice, various beverages, cocoa and chocolate products, beer, cooking wine, etc. In addition, β-carotene, tomato red, carmine, lemon yellow, turmeric, red rice red, etc. are also common colorants.

5. Sweeteners

Sweeteners can give food a sweet taste. Although sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose and other sugar substances are also natural sweeteners, they are usually regarded as food raw materials rather than food additives because they have been consumed by us for a long time and are important nutrients. Sweeteners commonly referred to as food additives include natural sweeteners such as xylitol, maltitol, erythritol, sorbitol, etc., non-sugar natural sweeteners such as stevioside and mogroside, and artificial sweeteners such as cyclamate, acesulfame potassium, sucralose (sucralose), and aspartame.

Although traditional sugars can provide sweetness, they are high in calories, while sweeteners are much lower in calories. In particular, artificial sweeteners do not participate in human metabolism and do not provide energy, making them very suitable for diabetics and obese people.

6. Leavening agent

Leavening agents are also very common food additives. Everyone should be familiar with them. They are substances that can make products rise to form dense porous structures, making the products fluffy, soft or crispy. Steamed buns, dumplings, bread, cakes, and fried dough sticks are inseparable from leavening agents. Common leavening agents include sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), disodium dihydrogen pyrosulfate, potassium aluminum sulfate (also known as potassium alum), ammonium aluminum sulfate (also known as aluminum alum), ammonium bicarbonate, etc. Baking powder, baking powder, and foaming powder are also leavening agents. They are compound leavening agents composed of multiple leavening agents and other auxiliary materials.

7. Coating agent

The coating agent is a substance applied to the surface of food to preserve quality, keep fresh, polish, prevent water evaporation, etc. You may feel unfamiliar with the name "coating agent", but in fact we often come into contact with it in our daily life.

When it comes to fruit waxing, many people look disgusted and think it is an illegal act of merchants, but in fact, fruit waxing is allowed by the country. Of course, the prerequisite is to use food-grade wax allowed by the country and the dosage meets national standards. This layer of wax is a coating agent. The wax forms a protective film on the surface of the fruit to prevent water evaporation, preserve freshness, prevent corrosion, and prevent insects, which is conducive to the long-term storage and transportation of fruits. If it is not waxed, the fruit will easily rot and deteriorate, and then we will not be able to enjoy many fruits produced in other places or abroad.

Food-grade wax is generally made from natural secretions of animals and plants, such as carnauba wax, which can be used as a coating agent for fresh fruits, and can also be used for coating the surface of chocolate and candy to make the color brighter and less likely to stick to each other. In addition, beeswax, shellac (also known as shellac), chitosan polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, etc. can also be used as food coating agents, and different coating agents can be used in different food ranges.

In addition to the ones introduced above, there are many more food additives, which are not listed here one by one. In short, food additives exist to make us eat better. Proper use of them can improve the flavor and quality of food while ensuring safety. I hope everyone has a correct understanding of food additives and does not need to label them as "harmful" or "unhealthy".

References:

1. "Food Additives Usage Standard" (GB2760-2014)

2. Interesting food website

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