Historically, foods were grown, collected, and eaten directly from a relatively unpolluted Earth. Wild foods were sought and gathered. As the human population grew exponentially, farming progressed, trade developed, and local markets shared a variety of goods among a diversity of people. Techniques for food preparation and preservation, such as pickling, salting, and smoking, were developed to deal with the new problems of storage, waste, and food-borne illnesses. With advanced technology, our modern food industry’s reliance on processing and additives continues to increase. This seemingly abundance of foodstuffs found in our supermarkets of today is deceiving our bodies by selling food products that are chemically altered and designed to appeal to us.
For a long time now, the food industry has continually created new chemicals to manipulate, preserve, and transform our food. With the use of chemicals, scientists are able to mimic natural flavours and colour foods to make them look more “natural” or “fresh,” preserve foods for longer and longer periods of time. There are even food products that are made entirely from chemicals. Coffee creamers, sugar substitutes, and candies consist almost completely of artificial ingredients. Such manipulation of our food can have a profound effect on our body’s unique biochemical balance.
Food processing combines raw food and food ingredients to produce marketable food products that can be easily prepared and consumed by the consumer. Food ingredients are added externally to food to increase the sensory qualities and shelf life of the food. Their use needs to be monitored with respect to associated safety and consequences of overuse must be considered.
Food ingredients are divided based on their intended use in the desired food products. There are in all 11 types of food ingredients. The different categories of food additives and the foods in which they are commonly used are as illustrated below: 1. Acids: Pickles, Sauces, Pastes etc.; 2. Anticaking Agents: Instant Mixes like Vada Mix, Idli Mix, etc.; 3. Bulking Agents: Slimming Products, Bakery Products etc.; 4. Food Colours: Candies, Chocolates, Jellies etc.; 5. Food Flavours: Beverages, Syrups, Confectionery etc.; 6. Emulsifiers: Salad Dressings, Margarine, etc.; 7. Stabilisers: Snacks, Indian Sweets, etc.; 8. Thickeners : Bakery Products; 9. Humectants: Biscuits, Flavoured Creams, etc.; 10. Preservatives: Meat and Meat Products, Chocolates etc.; 11. Sweeteners: Chocolate and Confectionery.
Food ingredients are used very commonly in foods which are consumed by the general public on a very daily basis by all groups of the population. The food additives are nothing but chemicals and hence their effects on the human body after their consumption may or may not be safe. For this purpose, the food additives which are considered to be safe are regarded as GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe). Even if they are considered as non-toxic upon consumption still their use has to be monitored and should be used within the set permissible levels.
The primary objective of establishing maximum use levels for food additives in various food groups is to ensure that the intake of the additive from all its uses does not exceed their Allowed Dietary Intake (ADI). Food additives must be treated like any other raw material used in the manufacturing of that food. One must ensure that the food additive used is of food grade quality and handled with utmost care.
In India, the permissible levels of all the GRAS food additives are set and monitored by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India from the year 2006. These set standards are based on the internationally recognised Codex Alimentarius. Along with the permissible levels the standards also mention the foods in which the GRAS food additives can be used and those in which their use is prohibited. For example, use of antioxidants is not allowed in chocolates but they can be used within permissible limits in sweets and snacks.
The use of food additives is justified only when such use has an advantage, does not present an appreciable health risk to consumers, does not mislead the consumer, and serves one or more of the technological functions. The food additive being used should be well explained and justified by the corresponding Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) associated with it. The quantity of the additive added to the food shall be limited to the lowest possible level necessary to accomplish its desired effect. The food additive used which unintentionally becomes a component of the food or the packaging material should be used in a more reduced manner.
The defined permissible levels of all additives mentioned above and the intended use of these in desired foods is elaborately explained in the FSSA, 2006, and the Codex standards. Anybody who wants to explore these levels as per the requirement of their products can obtain manuals and standards from www.fssai.gov.in & www.codexalimentarius.org/standards website respectively. A manufacturing company must ensure that the foods manufactured in their industry strictly adhere to these permissible levels to avoid creation of health hazards and corresponding legal problems with their products.
Now, the next question arises if it is important to declare the use of food additives on the labels of the food packages. According to the FSSA, 2006 Packaging and Labelling Regulations, 2011, it is a mandatory requirement by all food manufacturers to declare the use of food additives with their quantity on the food labels. The FBO can have severe consequences to the sale of such food products, if declaration regarding the food additives is missing on the labels.
It is extremely important to understand the reason behind implementation of such strict rules and regulations on the use of food additives. Foods above all the cosmetics and medications are the major source of toxins to the human health. Food additives being chemicals in their basic nature can prove to be toxic if used in large quantities. Literature and diagnostics suggest that excessive use of food additives can lead to minor health problems like weakness, cramps, headache, nausea rashes etc. to severe disorders like asthma, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and degenerative diseases.
The most susceptible groups are children and old age people due to the consumption of ready-to-eat and cooked foods prepared by the unorganised sector. When all these health hazards are considered among the population it is therefore necessary to avail more developments in processing of food and safer food additives. According to the recent developments there are many natural food additives being incorporated into processed foods which play similar roles to the chemically synthesised additives. Fruit extracts, honey, tea, garlic and other such phenolic foods are recently being assessed for their antimicrobial effect. These foods not only provide antimicrobial effect to the food but also confer health benefits to the consumers. Not only are food ingredients being explored but use of newer technologies like radiation and high pressure processing is under trial to replace the existing food ingredients.
There are enormous ways by which the use of food additives can be controlled and reduced significantly. It is in the hands of Food Business Operators to follow the prescribed rules and regulations for use of food additives. The responsibility of avoiding harmful effects of food additives also lies with the consumers. They must increase their awareness about the consequences of eating more and more processed foods.
