Food additives: what they are, what types there are, and effects on health

These components are added to food to modify its properties. Is this always a good thing?

Surely a large part of the population has heard about the presence of food additives in food. the presence of food additives in the food we buy, especially in the pre we buy, especially in precooked or packaged food, and people often try to avoid consuming them because they are associated with something negative.

On the other hand, it is known that although there are great economic interests behind them and they are not entirely healthy if they accumulate, they also have their function when it comes to keeping food preserved. There is a lot of controversy about these products.

What are food additives, what are they for and what effects do they have on us? It is on this topic that we are going to talk about throughout this article.

Food additives: what are they and what are they used for?

Food additives are substances which are not naturally present in food and which are added to food in order to add, enhance or modify some of its characteristics. add, enhance or modify some of their characteristics, without adding or removingThe main purpose of adding these additives is to add, enhance or modify some of their characteristics, without adding or removing any of the nutritional properties of the food in question.

Generally, the main objective of adding this type of products is to favor its conservation as long as possible, or to enhance the flavor. But it also has a sanitary sense, since the food in bad condition can suffer alterations and breed bacteria, fungi and fungus. and breed bacteria, fungi and other substances hazardous to health.

Although when we speak of food additives we generally think of synthesized products, the truth is that throughout history mankind has used salt, sugar or sulfur dioxide for this purpose. Or, even, it has generated procedures such as smoking, which allows food preservation. But little by little new ones have been generated with the purpose of increase the time food is preserved, enhance the aroma, appearance or flavor, or reduce the cost of food preservation.The main types of food preservation processes are: the use of aromas, appearance or flavor, or the reduction of the cost of manufacturing processes.

Main types

When we talk about food additives, we are not talking about something homogeneous, but about a series of elements that are added to food, but which can be grouped into different types of additives. can be grouped into different types of food additives with different with different properties or objectives. Thus, we can find some of the following types of food additives.

1. Preservatives

Probably the best known group of food additives and whose function makes the most sense, preservatives are those products that are used for the purpose of prevent the deterioration of foodstuffs due to the activity of microorganisms.. Among them we can find sorbic acid or benzoic acid, but also controversial compounds such as nitrates in marinades and sausages.

2. Flavoring agents

Flavourings are food additives that are added in order to improve the aroma and flavour of foodstuffs. improve the aroma and flavor of foods..

Generally, this group includes products of vegetable origin or products that imitate their aroma, including dried fruits and nuts. They are usually found in sweets, pastries, wines or cereals. Elements such as sugar could also be considered flavoring agents, although they are not legally considered as such.

3. Colorants

Colorants are a group of food additives, which can be natural or synthetic, whose main function is to improve the visual appearance of food. Thus, their use is aimed at giving more color to the product. An example is saffron or chlorophyll, or in the case of synthetics, erythrosine or tartrazine. However, it must be taken into account that many of these many of these products can contribute to generate some health problems..

4. Antioxidants

Although many foods contain natural antioxidants, it is common to find that in many foods they are added synthetically in order to prevent foods from oxidizing in order to prevent foods from oxidizing and spoiling, as well as to prevent them from getting a bad appearance and taste.

The main objective is to prevent the fats in the food from oxidizing and being lost. They can be either elements that directly eliminate oxidizing substances from the food or substances that promote and enhance the natural antioxidants already present in the food itself. An example is found in L-ascorbic acid, generally found in fruit and packaging.generally in fruit and in packaged foods, lactic acid and citric acid.

5. Stabilizers, thickeners, gelling agents and emulsifiers

Although each of these names refers to a type of additive, they all share the fact that their use is based on altering the texture and composition of foods, allowing us to generate a wide variety of products that are very different in the mouth despite having the same origin. They allow us to give more consistency to a liquid food, as well as to generate gels and emulsions. gels and emulsions.. However, most of them are not digestible per se. Examples of this can be found in pectins or sorbitol.

6. Acidulants

Another type of food additive classified by the World Health Organization is acidulants. The main purpose of these products is to regulate the acidity level of foods, or change the taste of the product.. This is typical of soft drinks, in which sulfates such as sodium or calcium sulfate are used.

7. Flavor enhancers

Flavor enhancers are substances that increase the perception of the flavor of the food to which they are added, in principle without the flavor enhancer having a taste of its own.. The best known is L-glutamic acid, which in high concentrations is responsible for the umami flavor.

8. Sweeteners

Along with preservatives and colorants, sweeteners are the best known food additives, and perhaps the most widely used by the end consumer on a daily basis, regardless of whether the food chosen contains them or not.

Sweeteners are a group of substances that are added to foods in order to give them a more in order to provide a sweeter taste.. Generally, they are products that have been created to replace the use of sugars, which is essential for people with certain diseases. Saccharin and aspartame are the best known, along with stevia (this part of a natural product) and glycyrrhizin.

9. Modified starches

This type of additive is characterized by the fact that it is based on the properties of starch to develop additives with binding properties, i.e. they are used to achieve to unite and keep together two or more types of food that by themselves would not be able to be mixed..

10. Enzyme preparations

This type of food additive is a preparation based on natural proteins whose purpose is to generate biochemical reactions in food, aiming to replace those procedures that would require the use of chemical substances to be carried out. Typical for the preparation of cakes, fermented products or fruits.. It is also possible that the preparation is not included in the final product that reaches the table.

Health effects

As we have seen, food additives are products considered useful and are used in order to preserve or try to improve the final product, or to reduce the cost of its production. But although we generally consume additives constantly, the truth is that many of them have been under investigation because in high proportions and with a habitual consumption, it is possible that they may favor the appearance of different types of food additives. it is possible that they may favor the appearance of different health problems or even become directly toxic. or even become directly toxic.

Among the different problems they can cause, we can find that some additives can generate allergic reactions in some people, as well as the possibility of making food digestion more difficult, absorption problems, excretion alterations or they can even hinder or destroy some beneficial components of the food to which they are added.

Also, in some cases they have been associated with difficulties in the transport of oxygen in the bloodThe use of nitrates can also lead to teratogenic effects that may harm the fetuses of pregnant women, or even in some cases to an increased probability of developing cancer, as is the case with nitrates, for example. It should also be borne in mind that for some of them the short-term effects are known but the data on possible long-term effects are not known or are not entirely clear.

Nevertheless, there are several organizations that evaluate the level of toxicity of food additives and regulate their presence in food in order to reduce and try to eliminate the risks. Among other actions, they can regulate the levels of additives used, or in the event that a particular additive proves to be particularly dangerous, they can even prohibit its use. Even so, it may be useful to assess the type of elements that are part of the food we eat.