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

Surely a large part of the population has ever heard of the presence of food additives in the food that we buy, especially in the pre-cooked or packaged one, being frequent that they try to avoid its consumption when being related to something negative.

On the other hand, it is known that although there are great economic interests behind and they are not entirely healthy if they accumulate, they also have a role in preserving the food. There is a lot of controversy with these products.

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

• Related article: "What is the difference between food and nutrition?"

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

They receive the denomination of food additives to the set of substances which are not part of food naturally and are added to these in order to add, enhance or modify any of its characteristics, without thereby adding or removing any of the nutritional properties of the food in question.

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

Although when we talk about food additives we generally think of synthesized products, the truth is is that throughout history humanity has used salt, sugar or sulfur dioxide with this purpose. Or, it has even generated procedures such as smoking that allows food to be preserved. But little by little new ones have been generated with the purpose of increase the time food is preserved, enhance the aroma, appearance or taste or reduce the cost of manufacturing processes.

Its 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 that in reality can be grouped into different types of food additives with different properties or objectives. Thus, we can find some of the following types of food additive.

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 avoid spoilage of food due to the activity of microorganisms. Among them we can find sorbic or benzoic acid, although also controversial compounds such as nitrates in marinades and sausages.

2. Flavoring

Flavorings are known as those food additives that are added in order to improve the aroma and taste of food.

Generally, products of plant origin or products that imitate their aroma, including nuts, are part of this group. They are usually found in sweets, pastries, wines or cereals. Elements such as sugar could also be considered flavoring, although they do not receive such consideration at the legal level.

• You may be interested: "The 5 types of flavors, and where are their receptors on the tongue"

3. Colorants

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

4. Antioxidants

While many foods naturally contain antioxidants, it is common to find that in many foods they are added synthetically in order to avoid that the food becomes oxidized and bad, as well as that it takes on a bad appearance and taste.

The main objective is to prevent the fats in the food from being oxidized and lost. They can be either elements that directly eliminate oxidizing substances from the food or substances that favor and enhance the natural antioxidants already present in the food itself. An example is found in L-ascorbic acid, generally in fruit and in packaging, 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 food, allowing to generate very varied products that are very different in the mouth despite having the same source. They allow us to give more consistency to a liquid food, as well as generate gels and emulsions. Now, for the most part they are not digestible per se. Examples of this are found in pectins or sorbitol.

6. Acidulants

Another of the types of food additives classified by the World Health Organization are acidulants. The main objective of these products is to regulate the acidity level of food, or change the flavor of the product. It is typical of soft drinks, in which sulfates such as sodium or calcium are used.

7. Flavor enhancers

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

8. Sweeteners

Along with preservatives and colorings, sweeteners are the best known food additives, and perhaps the ones that more are used by the end consumer on a day-to-day basis regardless of whether the chosen food carries it or not.

Sweeteners are a group of substances that are added to food in order to provide a sweeter taste. Generally, these are products that have been created to replace the use of sugars, something essential for people with certain diseases. Saccharin and aspartame are the best known, along with stevia (this part of a natural product) and glycyrrhine.

9. Modified starches

This type of additive is characterized by being based on the properties of starch to produce additives with binding properties, that is, they are used to achieve combine and hold together two or more types of food that by themselves would not be able to mix.

10. Enzyme preparations

This type of food additive is a preparation based on natural proteins that aims to generate reactions biochemicals in food, intending to replace those procedures that would need the use of chemical substances to be done. Typical of the preparation of cakes, fermented products or fruits. Likewise, it is 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 that are used in order to preserve or try to improve the final product, or reduce the cost of your production. But although we generally consume additives constantly, the truth is that many of them have been under investigation due to the fact that in high proportions and with a habitual consumption it is possible that they favor the appearance of different health problems or even that they become directly toxic.

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

Likewise, in some cases they have been associated with difficulties in transporting oxygen in the blood, to teratogenic effects that can harm the fetuses of pregnant women or even in some cases to an increase in the probability of developing cancer, as occurs for example with nitrates. It must also be taken into account that the short-term effects of some of them are known but the data on the possible long-term effects are unknown or not entirely clear.

Despite this, it must be said that there are various organizations that assess 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 one in particular is especially dangerous, even prohibiting their use. Even so, it can be useful to assess the type of elements that are part of the food we eat.

Bibliographic references:

• Ibáñez, F.C.; Torre, P. and Irigoyen A. (2003). Food Additives. Public University of Navarra.
• World Health Organization. (2018). Food Additives. WHO [Online]. Available in: http://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/food-additives.