Scientific understanding of food additives

Humans have a long
history of using food additives.
The history of the use of food additives in China can be traced back to the Dawenkou culture period 6,000 years ago, when the invertase (sucrase) in winemaking yeast was a food additive and belonged to food enzyme preparations; More than 2,000 years ago, the use of "brine" to point tofu, in essence, brine is a food additive, which belongs to food coagulant
.
Recently, food additives have attracted attention again, and consumers also need scientific understanding of food additives
in daily consumption.

Food additives refer to synthetic or natural substances
added to food for the purpose of improving food quality, color, aroma and taste, as well as for the needs of preservative, preservation and processing technology.
Food additives can be produced
by chemical synthesis, biological fermentation or natural extraction.
The number of approved food additives worldwide is about 15,000; At present, there are more than 2,300 kinds of food additives approved for use in China, which are divided into 22 categories according to function, and the common ones are antioxidants, leavening agents, colorants, preservatives, sweeteners, food spices, etc
.

The use of food additives has improved product quality, enriched food types, and met consumers' diversified consumption needs for food.

Food additives mainly have the following functions: maintain or improve the nutritional value of the food itself; as a necessary ingredient or ingredient in certain special dietary foods; Improve the quality and stability of food and improve its organoleptic properties; It is convenient for the production, processing, packaging, transportation or storage
of food.

If antioxidants are added to edible oil, it can delay or hinder the oxidation of oil; Adding colorants to candy can give it a good color.

The rational use of food additives will not affect
human health.
In order to protect consumer health, the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have established a special Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) to establish globally harmonized food safety risk assessment principles and methods, and to carry out food safety risk assessment of
food additives at the international level.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) has established standards (non-mandatory)
for the use of food additives at the international level.
As the host country of the Codex International Commission on Food Additives, China is in line with international standards, combined with the actual production, use and food consumption data of domestic food additives, and carries out food safety risk assessment of
food additives.

The current "National Standard for Food Safety Additives Use Standard" (GB 2760-2014) stipulates the principles of the use of food additives, the permitted varieties of food additives, the scope of use and the maximum amount or residue.

The basic requirements that should be met when using food additives mainly include: should not cause any health hazards to the human body; Food spoilage should not be masked; Food additives should not be concealed from the quality defects of the food itself or during processing, or used for the purpose of adulteration, adulteration or falsification; The nutritional value of the food itself should not be reduced; Reduce the amount used
in food as much as possible while achieving the desired results.

Food using food additives should be marked on the food label so that consumers can clearly consume
it.
However, some consumers are worried that if food additives are added to a variety of foods they eat every day, the total amount of a certain food additive eaten will be excessive
.
So, is it safe for children and other people to eat food containing food additives? In fact, the food safety risk assessment of food additives carried out in China when setting the maximum amount of each food additive will consider the situation that
people of different ages, regions and genders eat a variety of foods a day and eat for a long time.
Therefore, food additives are used within the specified range and dosage, which will not cause excessive intake and will not cause harm
to human health.
China also implements continuous and dynamic tracking and evaluation of food additives in use, re-evaluates food additives according to the latest research results at home and abroad, constantly adjusts the scope of use and usage, and prohibits the use
of some substances.

Food additives are not equal to illegal additives
.
In accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety Law, China has established a series of food additive management systems
.

First of all, a strict approval system is implemented for food additives before marketing; Implement a production license system for food additive manufacturers during production; A food safety risk assessment system for food additives has been established when used, and more than 700 mandatory national food safety standards
covering food additive use regulations, product requirements, production practices, labeling and inspection methods, etc.
have been formulated.
Secondly, it has also established the production, operation and use requirements and corresponding supervision and management system of food additives, as well as the import and export management system of food additives
.

Food additives are safe
when used legally.
So far, none of the food safety incidents that have caused harm to human health in China have been caused by
the legal use of food additives.
The illegal acts of "two supers and one non" such as the use of food additives and the addition of non-edible substances beyond the scope and limit are the reasons for
the occurrence of food safety problems.
China's food safety law clearly prohibits the production and operation of food that exceeds the scope and limit of the use of food additives; Food produced from non-food raw materials or food with chemicals other than food additives and other substances that may harm human health
.
Food additives and illegal additives are completely different, consumers do not have to deliberately avoid food additives, should be viewed
scientifically and rationally.

In order to further crack down on the illegal addition of non-edible substances and the abuse of food additives in food production, sales and catering services, the country has carried out a series of special rectifications, and in the past 10 years, 6 batches of "List of Non-edible Substances and Food Additives that May Be Illegally Added in Food and Food Additives that Are Easy to Abuse", and the relevant directory is currently being
further improved.

(Sun Baoguo, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor of School of Food and Health, Beijing Technology and Business University, Cao Yanping, Director of the Third Standard Room of the National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Zhang Jianbo, Dean of the Institute of Science and Technology, East China University of Science and Technology, Zhao Liming)

China Food News (November 07, 2022, Edition 06).

(Editor: Yang Xiaojing)