Food Additives

Group 4:
Diego Soares
Nicole Sartori

http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/8-additives-from-the-us-that-are-banned-in-other-countries
Summary
Food processing techniques
What is processing food? 1) Acidulant
Benefits vs. Drawbacks
-What is it?
Food additive -Where can we find it?
-e.g.: Phosphoric acid
What is it? -Health damage?
Side-effects?
2) Artificial sweeteners

-What are they?

3) Flavor inhancers -Where can we find them?
-e.g: Aspartame
-What are they? -Health damage?
-Where can we find them?
-e.g.: Monosodium Glutamate
-Health damage?
 Food Processing
Not only for packaged food, but technically anything
which transforms raw ingredients into something
else.

Procedure where food is prepared for

consumption

Often contain additives, artificial flavorings and

other chemical ingredients.
Advantages
Inactivation of:
food-borne pathogens;
natural toxins or other detrimental
constituents.

Prolongation of shelf-life;

Improved digestibility and bioavailability of

nutrients;
Drawbacks
Losses of certain nutrients (milled and
polished rice results in loss of iron and
vitamin B);

Formation of toxic compounds

(acrylamide, furan or acrolein);

Loss of original taste;

What are additives?
Food additives is any chemical substance that is
added to food during preparation or storage and
either becomes a part of the food or affects its
characteristics for the purpose of achieving a
particular technical effect.and it changes the
food characteristics.
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Improve taste, texture and appearance (by sweeteners, emulsifiers,
stabilizers);
Improve or preserve the nutrient values: enriched with vitamin,
minerals and other nutrients.
Preservatives (slow spoilage caused by air, bacteria, fungi, or yeast);
Control the acid-base balance
Side- effects?
Some people are sensitive to particular food
additive (allergic reactions):

-Digestive disorders: diarrhea and colicky pains;

-Nervous disorders: irritability, hyperactivity and
insomnia;
-Respiratory problems: asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis.
-Skin problems: hives, itching, rashes and swelling.
Side-effects?
Some common food additives that may cause
some problems:

-Sulfites (preservative): some asthmatics;

-Monosodium glutamate (flavour enhancer): found in
Chinese food - body tingling or warmth, and chest
pain.
-Aspartame (artificial sweetener): people with
phenylketonuria (PKU);
Acidulants

http://www.cooperativepurchasers.com/Ingredients/Acidulants/
What are acidulants?
Acidulants are additives that develop many
functions:

1) Flavoring agent: fruit drinks, desserts and

carbonated beverage;
2) Preservative: mayonnaise and tomato sauce;
3) Buffer: in prepared desserts;
4) Gelling agent: desserts and jams;
5) Coagulant agent: milk protein.
Phosphoric acid
Additive used as:

-Shaper flavour;
-Slows the growth of moulds and bacteria.
-It is manufactured commercially from phosphate
rock mined principally in North Africa and North
America.
 Where can Phosphoric acid be
found?
Soft drinks
Cola drinks

This has a harsh, biting taste which

complements the cola flavour.
Health damage?
Small amounts added to sodas;
Some studies showed:
- consume of cola have an increased risk of bone fractures;

-Dental erosion -> prolonged exposure of your teeth to acidic

beverages (General Dentistry, 2007);

-Drinking two or more colas a day, diet or regular, was associated

with a twofold risk of developing kidney disease.
 Artificial Sweeteners

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/artificial-sweetener.htm
What are artificial sweeteners?
Also called sugar substitute, low-calorie
sweeteners or non-nutritive sweeteners;

Used instead of sucrose to sweeten foods

and beverages;

Cannot be broken down by the body

(exception: aspartame);
What are artificial sweeteners?
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Approved:
-acesulfame potassium (also called
acesulfame K)
-aspartame
They are used by food industry to make: -
-saccharin -Diet drink;
-Frozen desserts;
-sucralose -Candy;
-Light yogurt;
-neotame -Baked goods.
Aspartame
Has been permitted for use as a food
additive in Canada since 1981;
Made by the bonding together of the
amino acids aspartic acid and
phenylalanine;
Approximately 200 times sweeter than
sugar;
Where can aspartame be found?
Soft drinks;
Desserts;
Breakfast cereals;
Chewing gum;
Available as a table-top sweetener.
Health Damage?

There is no evidence to suggest that the

consumption of foods containing this
sweetener, according to the provisions of the
Food and Drug Regulations and as part of a
well-balanced diet, would pose a health hazard
to consumers. Canada Health Website.
 European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) states
that the analysis of malignant tumors did not
provide enough information that could link this
type of tumor to the intake of aspartame.

The population with phenylketonuria can be

posed to hazard if the intake of aspartame is high.

40 milligrams/kilogram of body weight/day

Flavor enhancers.
Oxford dictionary: a chemical additive, e.g.,
monosodium glutamate, used to intensify the
flavor of food.

It turns the food more palatable because

of this intensification.
Monosodium Glutamate
Flavor enhancer;
MSG is a free amino acid salt with one
sodium atom attached to the amino acid
glutamate;
glutamate is an excitatory amino acid
neurotransmitter;
Naturally made in the human brain and
present within the muscle, kidney, and liver.
Where can monosodium glutamate
be found?

Naturally in many foods, such as tomatoes

and cheeses;

It is used to enhance the flavor of foods,

that is, it makes the food to seem more
palatable.
Health Damages?
Some individuals may exhibit an allergic-type
reaction or hypersensitivity;

Chinese Restaurant Syndrome (CRS);

Exacerbate migraine headaches;

Stimulates appetite Increase Insulin

Releasing Blood sugar level decrease
hungry again after a few hours.
Chinese Restaurant Syndrome
(CRS)
Collection of symptoms that include
sweating, headache, flushing, and in more
serious cases, swelling of the throat and
chest pain;

No empirical studies have found a causal

link between.
References
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/addit/index-eng.php
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002435.htm
http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/health/foodsafety/az1082.html
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/labelling/core-requirements/ingredients/food-
additives/eng/1369660809121/1369660915785
http://www.google.com/patents?hl=pt-
BR&lr=&vid=USPAT4511584&id=I1IzAAAAEBAJ&oi=fnd&dq=acidulant&printse
c=abstract#v=onepage&q=acidulant&f=false
http://www.understandingfoodadditives.org/pages/ch2p9-1.htm
http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/consumer/faq/why-phosphoric-
acid-in-soda-pop.shtml
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-sweeteners
http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/artificial-
sweeteners/
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Food_additives
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/addit/diction/index-eng.php
 http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/processed-food-definition-2074.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20725924
http://www.preservearticles.com/201104065021/what-are-the-
advantages-and-disadvantages-of-food-processing.html
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/addit/sweeten-
edulcor/aspartame-eng.php
http://www.scq.ubc.ca/msg-more-than-meets-the-tongue/
http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/FoodAdditiv
esIngredients/ucm328728.htm
Thank you!

Obrigado/a!