Food additives, including preservatives, are used by manufacturers to enhance certain facets of food and increase shelf life. Most countries have a list of allowed substances, and authorities assess their safety for consumption. Preservatives can reduce food waste and allow for more efficient production and sales.
In the food industry, manufacturers use ingredients that have nutritional purposes, such as flour and sugar, but they can also use extra ingredients, which usually may not be present in foods naturally. These ingredients are food additives and this term includes substances that perform different functions. Food preservatives are just one group of food additives.
Food additives and preservatives are not strictly necessary for many food products. Manufacturers use food additives to enhance certain facets of food. There are many different additives and examples include colors and sweeteners. Additives that perform less obvious functions include emulsifiers to prevent fat and water separation or gels to impart a stable but smooth characteristic.
Most countries have a list of substances allowed in foods sold in that country. In the European Union (EU), for example, the European Commission authorizes safe additives. In the United States, the authority is the US Food and Drug Administration. Authorities use research data on additives to assess whether substances are suitable for consumption at normal concentrations in food products.
While many additives, such as colors, simply add to a food product’s visual appeal, and thus potentially boost sales, when it comes to food additives and preservatives, preservatives increase shelf life. The amount of time a food can remain edible is important to both manufacturers’ and retailers’ profits and food safety.
Examples of chemicals that can be both food additives and preservatives include calcium propionate, sodium nitrate, and citric acid. Some of these chemicals occur naturally in foods, such as the citric acid in oranges, but some are not, including the sodium nitrate commonly found in ham. There are two main roles for preservatives. One is to slow down microbial breakdown and the other is to preserve the appearance of the food from age-related issues such as color change.
According to some interpretations of the term food additives, substances that are both additives and preservatives are all man-made chemicals. Traditional preservatives such as common salt, also known as sodium chloride, may or may not be considered food additives and preservatives, depending on the definitions of individual food authorities. Many foods can be perfectly edible without preservatives, such as white bread.
The reason manufacturers add preservatives to food products may be for practical reasons. For example, a bakery that supplies sliced white loaves of bread to a supermarket typically needs to add preservatives to the bread. Bread without preservatives can last only one day and be stale the next day, so if the consumer wants to purchase a loaf that stays fresh for three days, the bread needs added preservatives.
A supermarket can also keep bread on the shelves longer and doesn’t have to throw out leftover bread every night. An advantage for the consumer is that he can be sure that the bread is safe to eat until the expiration date and that he does not have to buy new bread every day. Preservatives can therefore reduce food waste and allow your bakery and supermarket to run more efficiently.
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