Why did mankind invent food additives if they are so good?

2025-02-19

In life, when it comes to food additives, most people will associate them with ‘Lean Meat Extract’ and ‘Sudan Red’, etc. However, Lean Meat Extract is a drug and Sudan Red is a chemical colouring agent. However, Lean Meat Extract is a kind of drug, Sudan Red is a kind of chemical colouring agent, both of them are not food additives, but illegal additives. Today we will tell you about the real food additives to bring changes to human life.

What exactly are food additives?

True food additives are chemically synthesised or natural substances that are added to food to improve its quality and colour, aroma and taste, as well as for preservation and processing.Food additives have been used in China for thousands of years.In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Chinese began to use salt brine as a coagulant to make tofu, ‘brine’ is also essentially a food additive.

Modern processed foods are even more difficult to do without food additives, which can significantly enhance the antioxidant capacity of foods and prevent rapid spoilage. Preservatives, for example, can extend the shelf life of food and prevent food poisoning caused by microbial contamination. Food additives can also improve the colour, odour and taste of food and enhance appetite.

What are the common types of food additives?

There are natural food additives as well as chemically synthesised additives. At present, there are 23 categories of food additives and more than 2,400 kinds of food additives allowed to be used in China.

Common food additives in life mainly include:

1. Preservatives: commonly used are sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, sulphur dioxide, lactic acid and so on.

2. Antioxidants: commonly used are Vitamin C, Isotretinoin and so on.

These two types of food additives are mainly to extend the shelf life of food.

3. Colouring agents: commonly used synthetic pigments are carmine, amaranth, lemon yellow, indigo and so on.

4. Bulking agent: commonly used bulking agents are sodium bicarbonate, ammonium bicarbonate, compound bulking agent and so on. Usually added in part of the candy and chocolate, can prompt the sugar body to produce carbon dioxide, thus playing the role of puffing.

5. Sweeteners: commonly used synthetic sweeteners such as sodium saccharin, sweetener.

6. Acidulants: citric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, lactic acid and so on.

7. Spices: synthetic and natural, with many flavours.

8. Thickeners and stabilisers: common ones are starch, gelatin, xanthan gum, soy protein gum, natural rubber, lanolin, agar. Can improve or stabilise the physical properties of cold foods, they make ice cream and other frozen foods for a long time to maintain a soft, loose tissue structure.

These six types of food additives are what give food more flavour, better texture and a better sensory experience.

Food safety incidents commonly thought to be caused by food additives are actually the result of the use of illegal additives or excessive use of food additives. For example, additives used in industrial production are added to food. For example, ham soaked with pesticides, red-centred duck eggs using Sudan red, rice flour with added white powder, milk powder with melamine, etc. are all illegal additives added to food.

There are strict regulations on whether and how much each food additive can be used in food. As long as the food additives comply with the standards and are used within the standards, the food additives are safe.