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Last Modified : June 27, 2008
Food additives
By: Dr. Khoddor Adam
Lebanon, June 27 2008
What are food additives?
A food additive 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. For example, substances that
are used to enhance the appearance, texture, or keeping qualities of a food or serve as essential aids in the processing of
food are all considered to be food additives.
Food additives include antioxidants, food preservatives, food coloring agents, flavoring agents, anti-infective agents (both
plain and local), vehicles, excipient and other similarly used substances. Many of the same substances are pharmaceutics aid
when added to pharmaceuticals rather than to foods.
Why are food additives used?
In general, food additives are used in food to:
1-Maintain its nutritive quality
2-Enhance its keeping quality
3-Make it attractive
4-Aid in its processing, packaging or storage.
Are Food Additives Safe?
Once they are approved by the FDA, food additives are considered to be fit for human consumption—but it’s important to
note that they might not be entirely safe. Some food and color additives have been known to induce allergic reactions,
while others are suspected to cause cancer, asthma, or birth defects. The FDA requires that all ingredients be listed on a
food’s label, but often additives will be listed as “spices” or “artificial flavoring,” making it impossible for consumers to
determine what, exactly, has been added to their food.
Intolerance and food additives
Adverse reactions to food additives occur in a small proportion of the population.
A few people are intolerant to some food additives. Intolerance does not depend on whether the food additive is derived
from a natural or synthetic source. More people are intolerant to common foods (such as peanuts, milk or eggs) than to
food additives.
The labelling of food products helps people who are sensitive to some food additives to avoid them.
Some dangerous food additives
-Sunset Yellow (E110) - a synthetic colorant, which can provoke allergic reactions and hyperactivity; and increased
incidence of tumors in animals; banned in Norway.
- Amaranth (E123) - a synthetic colorant, which can provoke asthma, eczema and hyperactivity; it caused birth defects
and foetal deaths in some animal tests, possibly also cancer; banned in the USA, Russia and at least 5 other countries.
- Sodium Nitrite (E250) and Potassium Nitrate (E252) - preservatives and color fixatives, which may provoke
hyperactivity and other adverse reactions; potentially carcinogenic; their use is severely restricted in many countries. Nitrates
and nitrites are preservatives that also add color and flavor, and are common in preserved meats such as salami.
- Butylated hydroxanisole BHA (E320) & Butylated hydroxytoluene BHT (E321) - synthetic antioxidants, which may
trigger hyperactivity and other intolerances; serious concerns over carcinogenicity; BHA is banned in Japan; in 1958 & 1963
official committees of experts recommended that BHT be ban ned in the UK, however due to industry pressure it was not
banned; McDonald's eliminated BHT from their US products by 1986. Butylated hydroxanisole (BHA) and butylated
hydroxytoluene (BHT) are antioxidants that appear in many grain and cereal products.
BHA and BHT are known culprits in cases of urticaria.
- Carrageenan (E407) - stabilizer and thickening agent; linked to toxic hazards, including ulcers and cancer; the most
serious concerns relate to degraded carrageenan, which is not a permitted additive. However, native carrageenan, which is
us ed, may become degraded in the gut.
- Monosodium Glutamate (E621) - "flavor enhancer" - Is an amino acid commonly used as a flavoring. While it appears
naturally in some foods like Camembert cheese, it's used mainly as an additive, particularly in Chinese and Japanese food. A
single bowl of Wonton soup can contain 2.5 grams of MSG. Can cause intolerant reactions and effect chemistry of the brain.
MSG is responsible for an allergic reaction known as Chinese restaurant syndrome (CRS), characterized by headache, nausea,
chest tightness, sweating and a burning sensation along the back of the neck. Some researchers writes that these
symptoms affect "only" "MSG-sensitive" individuals who eat free MSG (usually added in the restaurant as a condiment) on an
empty stomach. you may want to apply some easy reversing to such assertions :-)
MSG has also been blamed in a case of angioedema.
- Potassium Bromate (E924) - used as flour improver, banned in 1989 as a dangerous carcinogen; previously widely used
in bread products.
-Aspartame (E951) - is another additive that enhances flavor. Temporarily banned in the mid-1970s because of fears that
it caused mental retardation and endocrine dysfunction, aspartame is now back as a common additive in foods and
carbonated drinks. Aspartame is a known culprit in cases of urticaria.
By: Dr. Khoddor Adam
Lebanon, June 27 2008
What are food additives?
A food additive 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. For example, substances that
are used to enhance the appearance, texture, or keeping qualities of a food or serve as essential aids in the processing of
food are all considered to be food additives.
Food additives include antioxidants, food preservatives, food coloring agents, flavoring agents, anti-infective agents (both
plain and local), vehicles, excipient and other similarly used substances. Many of the same substances are pharmaceutics aid
when added to pharmaceuticals rather than to foods.
Why are food additives used?
In general, food additives are used in food to:
1-Maintain its nutritive quality
2-Enhance its keeping quality
3-Make it attractive
4-Aid in its processing, packaging or storage.
Are Food Additives Safe?
Once they are approved by the FDA, food additives are considered to be fit for human consumption—but it’s important to
note that they might not be entirely safe. Some food and color additives have been known to induce allergic reactions,
while others are suspected to cause cancer, asthma, or birth defects. The FDA requires that all ingredients be listed on a
food’s label, but often additives will be listed as “spices” or “artificial flavoring,” making it impossible for consumers to
determine what, exactly, has been added to their food.
Intolerance and food additives
Adverse reactions to food additives occur in a small proportion of the population.
A few people are intolerant to some food additives. Intolerance does not depend on whether the food additive is derived
from a natural or synthetic source. More people are intolerant to common foods (such as peanuts, milk or eggs) than to
food additives.
The labelling of food products helps people who are sensitive to some food additives to avoid them.
Some dangerous food additives
-Sunset Yellow (E110) - a synthetic colorant, which can provoke allergic reactions and hyperactivity; and increased
incidence of tumors in animals; banned in Norway.
- Amaranth (E123) - a synthetic colorant, which can provoke asthma, eczema and hyperactivity; it caused birth defects
and foetal deaths in some animal tests, possibly also cancer; banned in the USA, Russia and at least 5 other countries.
- Sodium Nitrite (E250) and Potassium Nitrate (E252) - preservatives and color fixatives, which may provoke
hyperactivity and other adverse reactions; potentially carcinogenic; their use is severely restricted in many countries. Nitrates
and nitrites are preservatives that also add color and flavor, and are common in preserved meats such as salami.
- Butylated hydroxanisole BHA (E320) & Butylated hydroxytoluene BHT (E321) - synthetic antioxidants, which may
trigger hyperactivity and other intolerances; serious concerns over carcinogenicity; BHA is banned in Japan; in 1958 & 1963
official committees of experts recommended that BHT be ban ned in the UK, however due to industry pressure it was not
banned; McDonald's eliminated BHT from their US products by 1986. Butylated hydroxanisole (BHA) and butylated
hydroxytoluene (BHT) are antioxidants that appear in many grain and cereal products.
BHA and BHT are known culprits in cases of urticaria.
- Carrageenan (E407) - stabilizer and thickening agent; linked to toxic hazards, including ulcers and cancer; the most
serious concerns relate to degraded carrageenan, which is not a permitted additive. However, native carrageenan, which is
us ed, may become degraded in the gut.
- Monosodium Glutamate (E621) - "flavor enhancer" - Is an amino acid commonly used as a flavoring. While it appears
naturally in some foods like Camembert cheese, it's used mainly as an additive, particularly in Chinese and Japanese food. A
single bowl of Wonton soup can contain 2.5 grams of MSG. Can cause intolerant reactions and effect chemistry of the brain.
MSG is responsible for an allergic reaction known as Chinese restaurant syndrome (CRS), characterized by headache, nausea,
chest tightness, sweating and a burning sensation along the back of the neck. Some researchers writes that these
symptoms affect "only" "MSG-sensitive" individuals who eat free MSG (usually added in the restaurant as a condiment) on an
empty stomach. you may want to apply some easy reversing to such assertions :-)
MSG has also been blamed in a case of angioedema.
- Potassium Bromate (E924) - used as flour improver, banned in 1989 as a dangerous carcinogen; previously widely used
in bread products.
-Aspartame (E951) - is another additive that enhances flavor. Temporarily banned in the mid-1970s because of fears that
it caused mental retardation and endocrine dysfunction, aspartame is now back as a common additive in foods and
carbonated drinks. Aspartame is a known culprit in cases of urticaria.
