Food Additives

Several  additives, coloring materials, vitamins, inorganic salts, antibiotics and plant fibers are added to foods and beverages in order to enhance the taste, palatability, texture and shelf life of these.

 However, in many cases, these additives are regarded as safe compounds, though their adverse reactions seem to be very rare in the general population (0.01-0.23%) but higher in atopic individuals (2-7%).  Probably because of the difficulty in diagnosis, most of the available information is based on case reports or small series.  Reported reactions are mostly mild and may affect the skin, the gastrointestinal tract, or the airways, and rarely anaphylaxis.

 As an example, for preserving meat sausages maintained at 36 hours in refrigeration, a color-protecting agent is added, composed mainly of carnosine, tea polyphenol, citric acid, phytic acid, rosemary and L-cysteine.  The colorizing agent is composed of monascus red, carmine and bixin

The discoloration due to oxidation of myoglobins, involves heating meat materials in the presence of (a) ?1 inorganic compounds containing gas-generating compounds and metal ion-releasing compounds generating compounds and metal ion-releasing compounds and (b) ?1 natural polysaccharides.  Thus, minced lean pork was mixed with natural salt, NaHCO3, carrageenan, xanthan gum, trehalose, Na glutamate, and ice-cold water, cured at 20° for 24 h, chopped, further mixed with lard, egg white powder, and spices.

 Inorganic salts such as of  potassium and sodium as  nitrites (E 249 and E 250) and nitrate (E 251 and E 252) are authorized for use under certain levels in several foodstuffs such as non-heat-treated, cured and dried meat products, other cured meat products, canned meat products and bacon. The key point in the use of nitrate and nitrite as preservatives is to find a balance between ensuring the micro-biological safety of the ham and keeping as low as possible the level of nitrosamines in the final product.  Nitrites and nitrates are authorized by FDA (food and drug administration) as additives for dry-cured ham.

Phosphates as food additives have effects on water retention, moisture retention, bonding, plasticization, thickening, solubilization, improving property, chelating property of metal ions, and improving organization structure and taste of food. .These play an important role in improving and enhancing the quality of food, and they are almost one of the natural ingredients in all food. They have been widely used as food additives in food processing industry

To flour and other cereal derived food stuffs bamboo leaf extracts contain flavonoids, active polysaccharide, special amino acid, aromatic components and trace elements  were added and showed promising features as food additives in the fields of natural functional, medical and healthy food, and agricultural engineering due to its unique properties such as rich resource as anti-oxidants and shelf-lengthening effects. Cyclodextrins (CDs) are cyclic oligomers that are widely used in the food industry as food additives, for stabilization of flavors, for elimination of undesired tastes or other undesired compounds such as cholesterol and to avoid microbiological contaminations and browning reactions

 A biologically active food supplement with toxicity-minimizing properties (e.g., against mycotoxins) is based on powdered watermelon (6-7% moisture content) expected to include pectin, protopectin, vitamins C and E, and selenium

Natural plant-derived extracts such as Rosa laevigata extracts are used for treating or improving immunity abnormality, body peroxidn and inflammation factor increase caused by Propionibacterium acnes-lipopolysaccharide, and treating hepatitis or liver damage, improving immunity abnormality, body peroxidn and inflammations.

 A soy beverage- or okara-based biologically  active additive for bakery products also contains whey proteins and meat hydrolyzate as a source of essential amino acids, eggshell calcium, bovine Hb as a source of heme iron, iodinated whey proteins as a source of covalently bound organic iodine, and dietary fiber.

 Other supplements such as vitamins (K, C and D), peptides e.g. antibacterial peptide with Magainin, Cecropin P and LL-37, as antibacterial agent fatty phospholipids, carbohydrates (e.g. tihalose) are also added to several food stuffs with the view of increasing their quality, durability
and healthy consumption.