WHEN WERE ADDITIVES FOOD DEVELOPED

WHEN WERE ADDITIVES FOOD DEVELOPED, USED AND WHY ?

For hundred of years it has been common practice to add to food in various ways to help preserve, flavour, blend, thicken or colour food. Our ancestor have long used salt to preserve fish and meat; spice to add taste to food; while egg yolks have been frequently used as a mean of combining water and oil. Vineger and sugar have also been used as food additives to preserve fruit and for making pickles. In More recent times the range of additives in common use has increased for a number of reason:

To offer consumers a wider choice of food.
To ensure that food stays wholesale until it is eaten.
To make food look more appetizing and easier to prepare.
To keep prices down by prolonging shelf life.

Without food additives the system for marketing food as we know today could not exist.

WHAT ARE THE COMMON TYPES OF FOOD ADDITIVES AND THEIR USES ?

The following list gives a brief account of the broad types of food additives based on its function, which are approved under example: the Malaysian Food Regulations 1985 and other regulation country and what they are used for:

PRESERVATIVES

Preservatives are used to control the growth of mould. bacteria and yeast and therefore increase the shelf life of food. Some preservatives are traditional such as sugar, vineger and salt and these are widely used in the food industry. In addition, permitted preservatives help to protect consumer from micro-organisms that cause food poisoning.

COLOURING SUBSTANCES

Colour make food appealing and help to stimulate appetite. When natural colour are lost in the preserving process, as it often is, manufacturers choose from a range of permitted colours to improve the appeareance of their products. Most food colours are derived from natural substances.

FLAVOURING SUBSTANCES / ENHANCERS

Herb and spices have been used for centuries to flavour food. In the food industry, many flavors, either natural or nature identical, are added in minute amount. This include the flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is used mainly in savoury foods such as dried soup, stock cubes, sauces and etc.

ANTIOXIDANTS

When any food containing fat or oil is exposed to air for a long period, the oxygen in the atmosphere will make it go rancid unless antioxidants is used. Besides helping to keep food fresh, antioxidant have an important role to play in conserving vitamins, in particular vitamin A.

FOOD CONTIONERS

Food conditioners are added to food for a technological purpose to obtain the desired food.

This includes:

Emulsifiers and stabilisers

Emulsifiers are used to make smooth mixture ingredients such as oil and water which normally separate. While stabiliser prevent them from separating again. They are used in product such as low fat table spread. ice cream, mayonnaise, sauces and instant dessert. Some emulsifiers and stabilisers also function as thicknekers. Without these, nutritionally desirable products such as low fat table spread could not be made.

Antifoaming agents

To stop liquids from becoming frothy.

Acidity regulators

To control the acidity and alkalinity of food.

Anticaking agents

To stop powder from going lumpy.

WHO APPROVED AND CONTROL THE USE OF FOOD ADDITIVES ?

All food additives must be safe and they must not exceed the legal permitted amount, when prescribed. A food additive is approved for use by Ministry Of Health and Other Organisation related only if it can be demostrated that no harmful effects are expected to result from its use. Among the imformation to determine its permitted use are:

Is the food additives safe at the level of use in that particular food and what is the allowable daily intake or ADI (ADI is the highest level of use taken everyday at which no ill effects are observed divided by a safety margin of 100).
Are there good technological reason for the use of the food additives.

When a food additive is approved, it is permitted in certain foods only and when necessary upper limits are strictly prescribed. At the same time the Ministry OF Health carry out a continuous monitoring program to ensure that the use of food additives is within the permitted level.