FOOD ADDITIVES

 After reading the text; decide if the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE.

1. Factory-made foods have made additives a very important part of our diet.
2. Salt and sugar aren’t broadly used additives and they don’t represent any real danger.
3. Additives are used to improve the foods.
4. Antioxidants make reaction of oxygen in the air with fats easy.
5. Emulsifiers are used to separate water from oil.
6. Flavour enhancers make natural flavour of foods stronger.
7. Preservatives disable the growth of micro organisms.
8. Food is made thicker by certain carbohydrates, which absorb some of the water that is
present in the food.
9. Artificial colourings are made from natural ingredients.

Shopping was easy when most food came from farms. Now, factory-made foods
have made chemical additives a significant part of our diet. Most people may not be
able to pronounce the names of these chemicals, but they still want to know what the
chemicals do and which ones are safe and which are poorly tested or possibly
dangerous. A simple general rule about additives is to avoid sodium nitrite,
saccharin, caffeine, olestra, acesulfame K, and artificial colourings. Not only are they
among the most questionable additives, but they are used primarily in foods of low
nutritional value. Also, don’t forget the two most familiar additives: sugar and salt.
They may pose the greatest risk because we consume so much of them.

WHY are the additives used???

Additives are added to foods to improve their quality and safety, to lengthen the
shelf life, to change the taste, smell/odour, solidity and appearance of the foods, or to
substitute certain ingredients (to lower the caloric value of foods).
ARTIFICIAL ANTIOXIDANTS EMULSIFIERS keep oil
COLORINGS are retard the oxidation of and water mixed
synthetic chemicals. They fats/oils, colourings, and together. THICKENING
are used to improve the flavourings. Oxidation AGENTS are natural or
colour of food. The use of leads to rancidity, chemical carbohydrates
colouring usually indicates flavour changes, and that absorb some of the
that fruit or other natural loss of colour. Oxidation water in food - make the
ingredient has not been is caused by reaction of food thicker and
used. oxygen in the air with stabilize foods by
fats. keeping the mixtures
of oils, water, acids,
and solids well mixed.

ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR PRESERVATIVES

SWEETENERS like ENHANCERS have prolong the shelf life
saccharin and no flavour of their of foods, prevent the
acesulfame-K give sweet own, but accentuate growth of micro
taste to the foods, but the natural flavour organisms like
contain less calories. or smell of foods. bacteria, mould and
yeast.
Most common additives:

SODIUM NITRITE, Meat processors love sodium nitrite because it stabilizes the
SODIUM NITRATE red colour in cured meat (without nitrite, hot dogs and bacon
Preservative, colouring, would look grey) and gives a characteristic flavour. Sodium
flavouring: Bacon, ham, nitrate is used in dry cured meat, because it slowly breaks
meats, smoked fish down into nitrite. Adding nitrite to food can lead to the
formation of small amounts of potent cancer-causing chemicals
(nitrosamines), particularly in fried bacon.

The meat industry justifies its use of nitrite and nitrate by

claiming that it prevents the growth of bacteria that cause
botulism poisoning. That’s true, but freezing and refrigeration
could also do that.

Because nitrite is used primarily in fatty, salty foods,

consumers have important nutritional reasons for avoiding
nitrite-preserved foods.

 Answer the questions:

1. What are sodium nitrite & nitrate used for?

2. Why is it better to avoid these additives?
3. What other methods have been used instead of using these additives to preserve the meat?

SACCHARIN; ARTIFICIAL Saccharin is 350 times sweeter than sugar and is used in
SWEETENER: "Diet" dietetic foods or as a tabletop sugar substitute.
products, soft drinks
(especially fountain drinks at In 1977, it was proposed that saccharin be banned, because of
restaurants). studies that it causes cancer in animals. However, it is still
permitted to be used, provided that foods bear a warning
notice. In 1997, the diet-food industry began pressuring the
U.S. and Canadian governments and the World Health
Organization to take saccharin off their lists of cancer-causing
chemicals. In 2000, the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services removed saccharin from its list of cancer-causing
chemicals. Later that year, Congress passed a law removing the
warning notice that likely will result in increased use in soft
drinks and other foods and in a slightly greater incidence of
cancer.

 Answer the questions:

1. What is saccharin used for?

2. Under what condition was saccharin allowed to be used in the past?
3. What about nowadays?
STIMULANT: Naturally Caffeine is the only drug that is present naturally or added to
occurring in coffee, tea, cocoa, widely consumed foods (quinine is the other drug used in
coffee-flavoured yogurt and foods). It is mildly addictive, one possible reason that makers
frozen desserts. Additive in of soft drinks add it to their products. Many coffee drinkers
soft drinks, gum, and waters. experience withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches,
irritability, sleepiness, and lethargy, when they stop drinking
coffee. Because caffeine increases the risk of miscarriages (and
possibly birth defects) and inhibits fetal growth, it should be
avoided by women who are pregnant or considering becoming
pregnant. It also may make it harder to get pregnant (but don’t
use it as a birth-control pill!). Caffeine also keeps many people
from sleeping and affects calcium metabolism. The caffeine in a
cup or two of coffee is harmless to most people.

 Answer the questions:

1. Caffeine is mildly addictive – what symptoms may occur if you stop consuming it?
2. Is caffeine an artificial additive?

(Olean) ... FAT Olestra is synthetic fat that is not absorbed by the body, but
SUBSTITUTE: Chips, runs right through. It is suggested that replacing regular fat
crackers. with olestra will help people lose weight and lower the risk of
heart disease.

Olestra reduces the body’s ability to absorb fat-soluble

carotenoids (such as alpha and beta-carotene…) from fruits
and vegetables. Those nutrients are thought by many experts
to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. Olestra enables
manufacturers to offer greasy-feeling low-fat snacks, but
consumers would be much better off with baked snacks, which
are perfectly safe and just as low in calories. Products made
with olestra should not be called "fat free," because they
contain substantial amounts of indigestible fat.

 Answer the questions:

1. What is the advantage of replacing regular fat with olestra?

2. What is the main disadvantage of replacing regular fat with olestra?
3. Why is it misleading to label products made with olestra “fat free”?