Note to teacher: It is best to view this in slide show view as all the animations will be seen in full, though all slides are editable for your convenience.

Food additives Must be approved by the EU. May only be used if they fulfill acceptable and useful functions. They must be safe to use. There must be a technological need for their use.   Their use must not mislead the consumer, i.e. issues related to the nature, freshness, quality of ingredients used. They must be of benefit to the consumer.

Types of food additives Direct additives, which are added to foods for specific reasons, e.g. to improve colour, flavour, keeping quality, nutritive value or physical condition (texture). Indirect additives, which become part of a product due to handling, packaging or storage, e.g. contaminants.

Advantages of food additives Increase shelf life (preservatives). Reduce risk of food poisoning (preservatives). Prevent waste (preservatives). Make food more appetising (colouring). Improve taste (flavouring). Improve texture (physical conditioning agents). Ensure consistency of quality. Inhibit action of enzymes and micro-organisms. Maintain or improve nutritive value. Increase variety of food available throughout the year.

Disadvantages of food additives Bulking agents can deceive consumers. Side effects, e.g. allergies, hyperactivity, toxin build-up. Some additives destroy nutrients, e.g. sulphur dioxide destroys vitamin B. Sweeteners can leave a bitter aftertaste, e.g. saccharine. Cumulative effects on humans are unknown.

What is an E number? An E number is a reference number given to food additives that have passed safety tests and have been approved for use throughout the European Union (EU).

Classification of additives Classifications E Numbers Colourings E100 ̶ 199 Preservatives E200 ̶ 299 Antioxidants E300 ̶ 399 Physical conditioning agents E400 ̶ 499 and others from E900 onwards Flavourings No E numbers Flavour enhancers E600 ̶ 699 Sweeteners E900 ̶ 999 Nutritive additives

Additives come in two forms Natural additives are those that occur naturally in plants or animals, e.g. green colouring made from chlorophyll. Artificial additive, which are either: Nature identical – identical to natural additives but synthetically produced, e.g. ascorbic acid identical to vitamin C Synthetically made for a particular purpose, e.g. esters, which add flavour.

Colourings (E100 ̶̶ 199) Note: Colourings are not permitted in fresh meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, baby food, bottled water, tinned, tomatoes, pasta and bread. Others, like butter, can only have permitted colours, such as carotene, added to them. Class Examples Use Origins Functions Natural Chlorophyll (E140) green Carotene (E160) orange Cochineal (E120) (red) Caramel (E150) (brown) Tinned vegetables Soft drinks Red jelly, ketchup Brown sauce Plants Carrots Cactus insects Heated carbohydrates (caramelisation) Improve appearance of food Replace colour lost in processing Satisfy consumer expectations Give colour to food that would otherwise be colourless Artificial Tartrazine (E120) (yellow) Sunset yellow (E110) Red (E128) Green (E142) Amaranth (E123) (purply-red) Sweets Sausages Blackcurrant products All made from coal tar Note to teacher: This is a click and reveal slide and the boxes will be removed as you click through in slide show view

permitted in baby foods Preservatives (E200 ̶ 299) Note: Preservatives are not permitted in baby foods Class Examples Use Origins Functions Natural Sugar Salt Vinegar Alcohol Spices Smoke Jam, sweets Bacon, pickles Pickles, chutney Fruit, cake Cake, biscuits Fish, meat, cheese Beet/cane Rock/sea salt Fermentation Roots, seeds, etc. Burning wood Prevents spoilage by preventing microbial growth Extends shelf life Prevents food poisoning Reduces waste Greater variety foods available out of season Artificial Sorbic acid (E200) Sulphur dioxide (E220) Benzoic acid (E210) Diphenyl (E230) Soft fruit, fruit yoghurt, processed cheese Sausages, fruit juice, dried fruit and vegetables Coffee, flour and confectionary Citrus fruit, bananas Made in laboratories from chemicals Note to teacher: This is a click and reveal slide and the boxes will be removed as you click through in slide show view

BHA / BHT are not permitted Antioxidants (E300 ̶ 399) NOTE: BHA / BHT are not permitted in baby foods Class Examples Use Origins Function Natural Vitamin C (E300) (ascorbic acid) Vitamin E (E306) tocopherol Fruit drinks Vegetable oils Fruit and vegetables Nuts and seeds Prevents oxidation where food is spoiled by reacting with oxygen Reduces waste Artificial Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) (E320) Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) (E321) Stock cubes, cheese spread Chewing gum Made in laboratories from chemicals Note to teacher: This is a click and reveal slide and the boxes will be removed as you click through in slide show view

Flavourings (no E numbers) Note: In some people the consumption of MSG can result in headaches, palpitations, chest and neck pains and dizziness; for this reason it must be listed on the label. It is not permitted in baby foods Class Examples Use Origins Functions Natural Sugar Salt Spice Herbs Jam, tinned beans, cereals Cheese, butter Convenience foods Meat products, sauces, stock cubes Cane, beet, fruit Sodium chloride Rock or sea salt Roots, seeds and plant leaves To add flavour to food To replace flavour lost in food. Artificial Esters Ethyl acetate Amyl acetate Aldehydes Benzaldehyde Maltol Rum flavour Pear flavour Cherry flavour Fresh baked smell Chemical reactions Heating acetic acid and ethyl alcohol Tree bark Flavour enhancers (E600–699) Monosodium glutamate (MSG) (E621) Chinese food, soup, sauces, stock cubes, crisps Glutamic acid (an amino acid) Sodium salt of glutamic acid Tasteless substances used to enhance food flavour Note to teacher: This is a click and reveal slide and the boxes will be removed as you click through in slide show view

permitted in baby foods Sweeteners (E900 ̶ 999) Note: Sweeteners are not permitted in baby foods Class Examples Use Origins Functions Natural Fructose Sucrose Glucose syrup Tinned peas Biscuits, sweets, tinned fruit Tinned fruit, jelly Fruit Sugar beet and sugar cane Fruit and honey To sweeten food Artificial Intense sweeteners Used in small amounts – sweeter than sugar Low in calories Aspartame (E951), e.g. Canderel, etc. Saccharine (E954), e.g. Hermesetas sweeteners Diet drinks, sweetener Dipertide:100–200 times sweeter than sugar Coal tar: 500 times sweeter than sugar Used in low-calorie and diabetic food and drinks Much sweeter than sugar Bulk Sweeteners Used in large amounts – same strength as sugar High in calories Sorbitol Mannitol (E965) Diabetic food Sugar-free food Sugar-free gum, ice cream Both come from lichens Sorbitol is used in diabetic food – does not need insulin. Mannitol is a low-calorie sweetener, medically used to treat swelling in the brain. Note to teacher: This is a click and reveal slide and the boxes will be removed as you click through in slide show view

Physical conditioning agents

Physical conditioning agents (cont.)

Nutritive additives/supplements Nutritive additives are nutrients added to food during manufacture. The foods are then called fortified food. The function of nutritive additives/supplements is to: Replace nutrients lost in processing Increase nutritional value Increase sales Imitate another food, e.g. TVP resembles meat.

Key words for revision Additives Antioxidants Artificial Colourings Direct additives E numbers Emulsifiers Flavour enhancers Indirect additives Natural Nutritive additives Physical conditioning agents Preservatives Sweeteners