Lecture
Food additives are classified according to many characteristics. In food technology, the following groups of additives are distinguished [2, 5]:
1. Food additives necessary in the technological process of production
of products: accelerators of the technological process; indispensable technological
food additives (dough leavening agents, dragee- and foam-forming agents, bleaching agents,
etc.); myoglobin fixatives.
2. Food additives preventing microbiological and oxidative spoilage of products: antimicrobial agents (chemical; biological);
antioxidants, preventing chemical (oxidative)
spoilage of products.
3. Food additives forming the marketable properties of products and ensuring their success in the market: food colorings; consistency improvers; flavorings; flavor additives.
4. Quality improvers for food products.
In commodity science practice it is advisable to distinguish the following groups of food additives [2, 5, 15-18]:
1. Taste and aroma regulators: sweeteners; flavor additives;
flavorings.
2. Consistency regulators: thickeners; gelling agents; stabilizers; emulsifiers; diluents.
3. Appearance improvers: colorings; bleaching agents.
4. Preservation regulators: preservatives; antioxidants.
5. Additives with other useful properties: dietary fiber.
By the special Codex Alimentarius Commission
of the FAO/WHO, 23 functional classes of food additives have been distinguished for
labeling, their definitions and technological functions (Table 3.1).
Some seasonings can be food additives, which are traditionally
used and enhance the taste qualities of food and contain biologically
active substances. Many today resort to food additives, simultaneously improving the taste of food and adjusting metabolism in the needed
direction. But it is very important for the consumer to know another "classification" as well
regarding the possible harmful effect of these additives on the human body [2, 5]:
hazardous – E-102, E-110, E-120, E-124, E-127;
banned – E-103, E-105, E-111, E-121, E-125, E-126, E-130, E152;
suspicious – E-104, E-122, E-141, E-150, E-171, E-173, E-180, E-477;
very dangerous – E-123;
carcinogenic – E-131, E-142, E-210, E-211, E-212, E-213, E215, E-216, E-217, E-230, E-330;
upsets the stomach – E-221, E-222, E-223, E-224, E-226, E-338, E-339,
E-340, E-341, E-407, E-450, E-461, E-462, E-463, E-465, E-466;
42
harmful to the skin – E-230, E-231, E-232, E-238;
disrupts blood pressure – E-250, E-251;
rash – E-311, E-312, E-373;
raises cholesterol – E-320, E-321.
The same foreign company can produce three categories of the same product: 1 – for domestic consumption in industrially developed countries; 2 – for export to other developed countries; 3 – for shipment to developing countries.
Table 3.1 – Classification of food additives
No.
Functional
classes
Definitions Subclasses
1 Acids
Increase acidity and
(or) impart a sour
taste to food
Acidulant
2
Acidity regulators
Change or regulate
the acidity or alkalinity
of food products
Acids, alkalis, bases, buffer, regulators
3
Substances that
prevent
caking and
lumping
Reduce the tendency of food product particles to stick to each other
Anti-caking agents, substances that
reduce stickiness,
drying agents,
separating substances
4 Anti-foaming agents Prevent or reduce foam formation Anti-foaming agents
5 Antioxidants
Increase the shelf
life of food products, protecting against
fat oxidation
Antioxidants, antioxidant synergists, complexing agents
6 Fillers
Substances that increase
the volume of the product without noticeably affecting its
energy value
Fillers
7 Colorings Enhance or restore the color of the product Colorings
8
Substances that
promote color retention
Stabilize, preserve
or enhance the color of the product
Color fixatives and stabilizers
coloring
9 Emulsifiers
Form or maintain a homogeneous mixture
of two or more immiscible phases, such as fat and
water, in food products
Emulsifiers,
softeners, dispersing agents,
surfactants, wetting agents
43
Precisely to the third category belong approximately 80 percent of the products,
food, cigarettes and beverages that are imported from North America and Western Europe both to the CIS countries and to many states of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Such products are produced (and especially at accelerated rates)
in the Bahamas, Cyprus, the Philippines, in Malta, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Israel, Morocco, Australia, Kenya, as well as in Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey and South Africa.
Comments