Introduction
Any material added to food to alter it before consumption is considered a food additive or preservative. Nutritional supplements, such as vitamins and minerals, are also used as additives to enhance food’s shelf life, flavor, and visual appeal (Awuchi et al. 2). Direct food additives include chemicals used in production and pollutants introduced during storage and distribution. Preservatives prevent spoilage and contamination from microorganisms in food and are often used in long-lasting foods to maintain their aroma and flavor (Awuchi et al. 3). This essay will discuss food additives and preservatives, their types, and their importance and role.
Many modern preservatives are chemical-based and potentially harmful, causing concern among consumers who want to avoid them. These harmful preservatives can cause adverse health effects such as allergies, cancer, and other chronic illnesses. As a result, there is a growing demand for safe, natural food additives and preservatives that have no negative impact on health.
Natural preservatives like salt and vinegar have been used for centuries in food preservation and are gaining popularity once again. Throughout the preparation and processing stages, food additives are added to almost all types of food to impart desired attributes. Additives have been utilized for thousands of years, and their prevalence in the modern diet continues to increase (Awuchi et al. 2).
Despite additives’ benefits to the food industry, it is important to exercise caution while consuming them. Most additives are man-made and may be potentially harmful to consumers. Due to growing interest in bio-based and natural additives, such as natural colorants, natural preservatives, natural flavors, and antibacterial agents, these plant-based additives are becoming more popular as consumers seek to protect their health.
Importance and Role
Humans have long used salt to preserve meats and fish, sugar to preserve fruits, and herbs and spices to enhance the taste of meals. Food additives are growing, and they are employed to improve the healthfulness, safety, accessibility, and affordability of human food. Food additives are used for various purposes such as acidity management, foam reduction, taste enhancement, and organoleptic quality improvement (Awuchi et al. 3). They extend the shelf life of foods by preventing the growth of dangerous bacteria and rotting microorganisms. Additionally, food additives make previously unattainable foodstuffs available at a lower cost, increase the variety of ready-to-eat meals, and expand consumer options, saving time in the kitchen.
Enzyme supplements play a significant role in fermenting food scraps into lactic acid and alcohol. Research shows that the addition of enzymes, such as protease (39.7%) and amylase (54.2%), can improve the solubilization of waste-activated sludge (Liu et al. 2). The bioprocess of fungus SSF (solid-state fermentation) can also produce a mash high in exo-enzyme secretion, which can be used in waste hydrolysis of food as a crude enzyme cocktail.
Furthermore, fungal mash added in the synthesis of methane from food waste reduces the volatile substances in food waste by 64% through hydrolysis and eliminates them entirely by 84% (Sen 51). In decreasing the oxidation of primary and secondary PUFA in cod liver oil, barley husk-derived antioxidants are more effective than BHA and BHT (Sen 51). The use of food additives in active packaging films benefits non-vegetarian items like fish, poultry, beef, and butter by increasing the oxidation process’s stability, improving texture, and appearance.
Adding natural food additives to the fermentation process of soybean paste, such as catechin and grapefruit seed extract, significantly decreases the levels of biogenic amines. Biogenic amines are nitrogenous hazardous compounds, primarily putrescine, produced through the decarboxylation of microorganisms or the route of amino acids during fermentation. According to Wu et al., natural additives help reduce these nitrogenous compounds, which threaten human health (8499). As a result, there has been an increase in interest among consumers and manufacturers in natural food additives as people become more aware of the foods they should consume and avoid.
Using natural ingredients has several advantages, including improved emulsification and stability in food emulsions. Natural additives enhance the rheology of emulsions in foods and include ingredients such as coconut milk and protein, coriander, aloe vera gel and juice, turmeric, and Bengal gram. These organically derived food additives can effectively replace artificial thickeners, stabilizers, preservatives, and other artificial additives. This is particularly important since consumers increasingly value health and wellness, and using natural food additives can help mitigate the problem of contaminated products (Sen 23).
Beetroots are another example of a “miracle crop” that can be used in the food industry as a natural coloring agent due to the potent antioxidant betanin. A study has shown that betanin has anti-inflammatory properties and a protective effect on the liver, making it a valuable ingredient in human diets (Tan and Shahrul 3). Furthermore, studies have found that betanin inhibits tumor growth, highlighting the potential of natural additives to have therapeutic benefits.
Natural food additives have become increasingly popular as consumers become more conscious of their food choices. Their advantages, such as improved emulsification, stability, and decreased levels of nitrogenous compounds, make them an attractive alternative to artificial additives. Additionally, the therapeutic properties of certain natural additives, such as betanin, make them valuable parts of human diets. As such, the use of natural food additives is a promising area for future research and development in the food industry.
Types of Food Additives
Food additives can be of three types: preservatives, nutritives, and quality enhancers. These can be further divided into subcategories. In preservative additives, antimicrobial and antioxidant agents are present, while in nutritive vitamins, artificial colors, flavors, thickeners, and emulsifiers are under quality enhancement (Sen).
Salt, vinegar, calcium propionate, and sorbic acids are antimicrobial agents and are usually used in margarine, cheese, salad dressings, baked goods, and pickles. Food additives enhance flavor, improve shelf life, and supplement the nutrient loss in processed food products, making them eye-catching (Sen 48). Natural vitamins like Ascorbic acid, Tocopherol, Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) work as antioxidants and are usually used in fat-rich products.
Preservative Additives
Additives used as food preservatives are compounds that reduce the growth of hazardous microbes, including fungi, bacteria, and others, thereby extending the shelf life of the food they are added to (Sen 48). So, currently, food corporations can not function without using preservative chemicals. When used in excess, artificial preservative ingredients in food might harm consumers’ health. For instance, Sodium and potassium benzoate have genotoxic effects on host cells in vitro (Sen 50). However, safe levels of food additives may be used to divide up the responsibility in this scenario. Surprisingly, although many food additives have been shown to have harmful effects on hosts at hazardous levels, only a small fraction of artificial food additives have been shown to have beneficial health impacts on hosts at safe levels.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are crucial in food because they lower oxidative stress in oxygen-sensitive organisms. Hydrophilic, amphiphilic, and lipophilic antioxidants are all useful for protecting various substances from deterioration. Antioxidants not only stop oxidation, but they also keep food from becoming too acidic. Ascorbic and citric acids are two examples of antioxidants that also control acidity (Sen 20). Antioxidants, which control the acidity of foods, play a crucial role in the food business by limiting the development of microorganisms and extending the viability of perishable goods.
Antimicrobial Agents
Antimicrobial drugs reduce microbial activity, extending the shelf life of perishable goods. Antimicrobial agents include a wide variety of substances, including chemicals and antibiotics. Antibiotics for food preservation can potentially promote the development of resistant strains, rendering the drugs useless for medical purposes (Sen 21). Due to this, several nations have outright banned antibiotics in food preservation, while others have permitted their restricted usage.
Soft drinks, beer, acidic foods, and margarine are preserved with benzoic acid and its salt to prevent spoilage due to mold and bacteria growth (Sen 17). Dried fruits, shredded coconut, and fruit pies all employ sulfites to prevent mold and bacterial growth, allowing them to be stored for much longer. Smoked meats, processed meats, luncheon meats, bacon, and cured sausages often include nitrites or nitrates (Sen 40). These foods are preserved to extend their storage life by preventing the formation of mold and bacteria.
Nutritional Additives
Fortifying or enriching particular foods to rectify dietary deficiencies or adding nutrients to food substitutes are all examples of how nutritional additives are used. In 1924, iodine was added to salt to prevent goiter, marking the beginning of the practice of fortifying foods (Sen 51). Many foods have vitamins added to them to improve their nutritional profile. Vitamin C is added to fruit drinks, cereals, dairy products, and confectionery; vitamins A and D are added to dairy and cereal items; and numerous B vitamins are added to flour, cereals, baked goods, and pasta (Sen 52). Linoleic acid, an important fatty acid, calcium, iron, and dietary fiber are other nutritional supplements.
Vitamins
Legally mandated nutritional fortification is most common in flour and margarine. Since iron, nicotinic acid, thiamin, and calcium carbonate are lost during milling and must be replenished by the miller, the regulation of flour and bread mandated that all types of flour include a minimum proportion of these nutrients (Wu et al., 1905). Home margarine typically contains higher concentrations of vitamin A and D than butter. Manufacturers have leeway in deciding what additional foods to fortify with nutrients (Sen 53). In morning meals, vitamin C in fruit juices, vitamin C in mashed potato powder, and vitamin D and calcium in newborn food all qualify as nutritious foods.
Minerals
Minerals serve several functions in the human body, including the conduction of nerve impulses and the maintenance of strong bones. Foodstuffs may benefit from the addition of mineral salts. They may act as a preservative or antioxidant in food products (Sen 20). Important dietary minerals such as sodium, sulphur, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, chloride, etc. are all in the list. Iron, iodine, zinc, and fluoride are some of the included micronutrient salts.
Quality Enhancing Additives
Using additives that increase overall quality can enhance food flavor. These additions improve the food’s color, taste, and texture, which may result in a lower rate of product rejection during quality assurance (Sen 18). Therefore, the use of quality-improving chemicals such as color, taste, emulsifiers, and texture enhancers results in food that is more visually attractive, tastier, and more generally accepted.
Colorants
A colorant is an additive that may be any material, dye, or pigment that, when added to a food, cosmetic, medication, or the body of a human being, gives the ability to have a colored appearance. There is a clear correlation between a product’s color and its level of freshness, thus making color a significant factor in determining the overall quality of any food product (Sen 51). Therefore, the sensory quality of every food product is closely related to the food coloring that it contains.
Food colors can be divided into two categories: certified and non-certified. Certified food colors are those that are obtained synthetically and are more effective than non-certified food colors. Non-certified food colors are obtained from natural sources and can give off flavors when added to a product.
Thickeners and Stabilizers
Additives known as thickeners are often employed in the food business to facilitate an increase in the amount of product, a change in velocity, and an improvement in the food items’ capacity to be processed. According to Liu et al., the natural food additive material known as alginate works as both a thickening and a gelling agent in food items (3). Stabilizers operate by applying fillers to food to make the meal more stable. A stabilizer is a component that makes food more stable in texture. Some examples of stabilizers are agar, pectin, and other similar substances. Stabilizers also promote the uniform dispersion of food elements.
Emulsifiers and Surfactants
In the food business, emulsifiers and surfactants play a significant role in elevating the overall quality of the produced goods. One definition of an emulsifier is a material that helps turn two immiscible forms into a form that can mix with each other (Sen 48). Emulsifiers are used in the food business to produce water-in-oil and oil-in-water types of emulsions.
According to Danylenko et al., each of these substances contributes to improving the viscosity and organoleptic qualities of food (360). Despite this, many studies are now being carried out to investigate the potential benefits of synthetic lecithin (Wu et al. 8512). As such, lecithin, an emulsifier extracted from soybeans and often used in the food industry due to its emulsification and stability capabilities, falls under this group.
Conclusion
In conclusion, food additives and preservatives give food its savory flavor and keep it from offending the consumer’s sense of smell and taste. At this point in time, not a single food business continues to use such food additives to improve the quality of food. The food additives industry encompasses a vast landscape rich in opportunities for sub-specialization and serves as a magnet for research experts.
As a result of the recent trend in which the demand for additives is higher than the supply, there is a need to modify the existing situation of creating food additives. In order to do this, one must conduct research in this sector to fulfill the requirements of customers, retailers, and manufacturers. While using food additives, one should constantly keep in mind that they have impacts on one’s health as well; as a result, a significant amount of attention should be placed on following the rules established by food safety authorities to minimize or eliminate any potential health risks.
Works Cited
Awuchi, Chinaza Godswill, et al. “Food Additives and Food Preservatives for Domestic and Industrial Food Applications.” Journal of Animal Health, vol. 2, no. 1, 2020, pp.1-16. Web.
Danylenko, Svitlana G., et al. “The Effects of Thickeners Upon the Viscous Properties of Sour Cream with a Low Fat Content.” Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Technologia Alimentaria, vol. 19, no. 3, 2020, pp. 359-368. Web.
Liu, Minrui. et al. “Improving Biogas Production Using Additives In Anaerobic Digestion: A Review.” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 297, 2021, p. 1-9. Web.
Sen, Mousumi, editor. The Role of Additives, Preservatives, and Adulteration. Wiley Publishers, 2022.
Tan, Mei Lan, and Shahrul Bariyah Sahul Hamid. “Beetroot as a potential functional food for cancer chemoprevention, a narrative review.” Journal of Ccancer Prevention, vol. 26, no. 1, 2021, pp. 1-17. Web.
Wu, Long, et al. “Food Additives: From Functions to Analytical Methods.” Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, vol. 62, no. 30, 2022, pp. 8497-8517. Web.