Food Additives

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavour or enhance its taste, appearance, or other qualities. Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling (with vinegar), salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulphur dioxide as with wines. With the advent of processed foods in the second half of the twentieth century, many more additives have been introduced, of both natural and artificial origin. To regulate these additives, and inform consumers, each additive is assigned a unique number, termed as "E numbers", which is used in Europe for all approved additives. This numbering scheme has now been adopted and extended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission to internationally identify all additives, regardless of whether they are approved for use.

  • Need for Food Additives
  • Food Colorants
  • Food Flavour Chemistry
  • Food Preservatives & its Effect
  • Emulsifiers & Flavour Enhancers
  • Food Stabilizing Agents
  • Risk Analysis of Food Additives