List Of Food Additives: Their Role In Healthy Eating

A list of food additives is nothing new to our food. Mankind has been adding to food for centuries.

My father would make sauerkraut, which uses vinegar. Or even when he made his own bacon in the smoke house, salt was used.

Today, our food manufacturers use food additives for many reasons. From preservatives to increase shelf life to replacing nutrients and even taste that food processing had destroyed.

Both my father and mother were very good cooks. They took the time to teach me the importance of not destroying all the nutrients when I prepare the food.

Seems there is a lesson there for the industry. It doesn't fix the problem simply by replacing the nutrients.

This is because we could never do as well as Mother Nature had done in the first place. She has all the trace nutrients there in perfect balance.

Looking at the list of food additives, we see they are put into categories.

Acids - used to provide a sharper flavor or to preserve.

Acidity regulators - these control the acidity.

Anticaking agents - to keep powdered substances from caking.

Antifoaming agents - to retard foaming.

Antioxidants - these are used as a preservative and act by preventing oxidation of food. An example is Vitamin C.

Bulking agents - to add bulk. Starch is an example.

Food coloring - to make the food attractive or to replace color lost in processing.

Color retention agents - are used to maintain the existing color.

Emulsifiers - keep the water and oil mixed. Used in mayonnaise, ice cream and homogenized milk.

Flavors - both natural and artificial. Even manufactured copies of natural flavors are acceptable in the industry.

Flavor enhancers - natural and artificial.

Humectants - used to prevent drying out.

Tracer gas - used just to increase shelf life.

Preservatives - inhibit spoilage from fungi, bacteria and microorganisms.

Irradiation is an approved method of preservation.

Stabilizers - this would include gelling agents like pectin.

Sweeteners - for flavor. Examples would be sugar and aspartame.

If only these were the complete list of food additives to be concerned with. It is acceptable to have hormones and antibiotics in the meat and milk. Pesticides on the produce and in the tissues of meat.

We also have what is known as the 'indirect food additive'. This would be substances that came into contact with the food during processing, holding or the package itself. An example of this would be sanitizing agents used on the processing equipment.

So all these are acceptable additions to food. Acceptable to whom?

Government standards.

The thing is, they are not what you expect.

So...

You set your own standards to the quality of food you buy and feed your family. Take a look at the label and buy according to your standards. What list of food additives are you willing to accept?

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