Essay On Food Additives

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Risks and Benefits of Food additive Food Additive The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines food additive as: “Any substance, the intended use of which results or may reasonably be expected to result, directly or indirectly, in its becoming a component or otherwise affecting the characteristics of any food” According to the Food Protection Committee of the Food and Nutrition Board, food additives may be defined as follows: “Substance or mixture of substances, other than a basic foodstuff, which is present in a food as a result of any aspect of production, processing, storage, or packaging. The term does not include chance contaminants” In other words, an additive is any substance that is added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste…show more content…
Benefits of Food Additives Additives have been used for many years by the food manufactures to preserve, flavor, color, stabilize and thicken foods. An additive improves the nutritional value of foods and plays an important role in reducing nutritional deficiencies. Taste, texture and consistency are also improved due to additive’s addition in food. With the advancements in food additive technology, the consumer demands like safe, nutritious, colorful, appetizing and economical food products are fulfilled and the palatability and wholesomeness of food is also ensured by the use of additives. Some of the benefits that a food additive provides are discussed below: Provide Nutrition Food additives are added in food to maintain its nutritional value which might lose during processing of food, or to enhance the food’s nutritional quality. Enrichment or fortification of nutritional additives like vitamins, soya proteins and minerals in food products is a common practice. For example, iodine is added in salt to prevent or virtually eliminate goiter. Vitamin D is added in milk to avoid rickets. Niacin is added in breads and other cereal products to avoid

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