Nowadays, our life can not be separated from what we call food additives. They are substances that are intentionally added to our food during its processing. Almost all of what we eat everyday contains such substances, whether they are naturally occurring or artificial substances.
Preservatives, artificial sweeteners, flavor enhancers, artificial food colors, antioxidants and mineral salt are some common examples of food additives we usually consume.
Most food additives are shown on product label. You can check what kinds of additives are added. Some of them are not mentioned on the label, because they are stated as ingredient. For example margarine. Margarine is processed using additives.
Not all processed foods contain additives, such as frozen foods, canned foods and long-life milk. Some of food additives are safe to consume and some of them are not. Sometimes the additive is stated in its full name and at the other times, it is mentioned only in form of its representing code number.
There are many types of food additives: antioxidants, anti caking agents, emulsifier, artificial sweetener, food acids, colors, flavors, gelling agent such as gellan gum, flavor enhancer, humectants, salts, propellants, preservatives, foaming agents, bulking agents, rising agents, glazing agents, thickeners, vegetable gums and stabilizers.
Food additives are chemicals. They can be naturally occurring substances or artificial substances. Naturally occurring additives do not always mean safer than artificial additives.
