Food additives

Natural or synthetic substances added

to food to prevent spoilage or to
improve its appearance, taste or
texture.
 Preservatives

Flavourings Antioxidants

Food additives

Dyes Stabilisers

Thickeners
Preservatives – To slow down or prevent the
growth of microorganisms
Preservative Example How it works
Salt Salted fish Salt or sugar draws the
water out of the cells of
Sugar Jam microorganisms and
retards their growth.
NaNO3, NaNO2 Burger, sausage,
luncheon meat Slow down the growth
Benzoic acid, Oyster sauce, tomato of microorganisms
sodium benzoate sauce, fruit juice
SO2 Fruit juice

Vinegar Pickled mango Vinegar provides an

acidic condition that
inhibits the growth of
microorganisms
 Preservatives – Side effects

 NaNO2 – Can cause stomach cancer (During

cooking, nitrites produce nitrosamines i.e.
carcinogenic).

 Eating too much

 Salt – Increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart
attack and stroke.
 Sugar – Can cause obesity, tooth decay and diabetes

 SO2 – Cause asthma and allergies

 Antioxidants - To prevent oxidation that causes
rancid fats and brown fruits

Antioxidant Example Function

BHA and BHT Margarine To retard rancidity in oils

Ascorbic acid Fruit juice To preserve the colour of

(Vitamin C) fruit juice
Alpha tocopherol Vegetable oils To retard rancidity in oils
(Vitamin E)
Sodium citrate Cooked cured meat To stop fats from turning
rancid

Note : BHA = Butylated hydroxyanisole

BHT = Butylated hydroxytoluene
 Flavourings – To improve the taste of food and
restore taste loss due to processing

Flavouring Function Example

Aspartame To sweeten food Diet drinks, low-
 Non-sugar sweetener calories frozen
 ± 200x sweeter than desserts and some
sugar soft drinks
 Fewer calories than
sugar
 Stable when dry or
frozen
 Breaks down and loses
its sweetness over time in
liquids at temperatures
>30°C
 Flavourings – To improve the taste of food and
Flavouring
Monosodium glutamate
(MSG)
 A sodium salt of
glutamate acid
Synthetic essences
 Contains compounds
belonging to the
homologous series of
esters.
 Cheaper to use these
artificial flavours than to
use the real fruits
restore taste loss due to processing
Function Example
To bring out the Frozen food, spice
flavour in many food mixes, canned and dry
soups, salad
dressings and meat or
fish-based products
To produce artificial Pentyl
flavours which ethanoate=banana,
resemble natural ethyl
flavours butanoate=pineapple,
methyl
butanoate=apple,
octyl
ethanoate=orange
 Stabilisers
 To prevent an emulsion from separating out.

 Emulsions are either oil droplets suspended in

water or water droplets suspended in oil.

 Used in food which contains oil and water such

like margarine, butter, ice cream and salad
cream (e.g. mayonnaise).

 Examples of stabiliser : Lecithin, mono- and di-

glycerides of fatty acids.
 Thickeners – To thicken food
Thickener Example
Modified starch Instant soups and puddings
Pectin Jam
Acacia gum Chewing gum, jelly and
wine
Gelatine Yogurt
Xanthan gum Sauce, salad dressing

Note : Acacia gum can act as a thickener as well as a stabiliser

 Dyes
 Food colouring are dyes.
 Food processing often leads to a loss of colour.
 Used to food to add or restore the colour in a food in
order to enhance its visual appeal and to match
consumers’ expectation.
 Can be classified into :
 Natural food dyes – Pandan leaves, morning glory, rose, etc.
 Artificial food dyes – Azo or triphenyl compounds.

 Artificial food dyes are often used because they are

more uniform, less expensive and have brighter colour
than natural food dyes.
 Dyes
 Azo dyes have colours such as red, orange and
yellow.
 Triphenyl dyes have colours such as blue and
green.
 For examples:
 Tartrazine – A yellow azo dye, used in orange drinks
custard powder, sweets and apricot jam.
 Brilliant blue CF – A blue triphenyl dye, found in
beverages, jellies, confections and
syrups.
- It can be combined with tartrazine
to produce variuos shades of green.
 Food additives
Advantages
 Make the food stay fresh
longer, look nicer and
taste better
 Make seasonal crops and
fruits available throughout
the year
Disadvantages
 Some of the food
additives are associated
with diseases like cancer,
asthma, allergies and
hyperactivity(Tartrazine)
 Some of the food
additives make the food
less nutritiuos