Food additive

Food additive refers to a natural or synthetic chemical substance added to improve the sensory properties (color, aroma, taste) and food quality of food. In adult foods, some additives can be added according to China's health standards, but in infant foods, they should be strictly controlled. In infants and young children, the detoxification mechanism and protection mechanism are poor, and it is easy to cause a large amount of chemical substances to accumulate. The World Health Organization and all countries stipulate that food additives should not be added to infant foods. Children's foods should also be limited to add saccharin, pigments and flavors. Wait. Especially in infant foods less than 12 weeks old, such as infant formula, cereal products, etc. should be completely free of food additives. Food additive classification: Food additives can be divided into two categories: natural food additives and chemical synthetic food additives. The natural food additive is obtained by extracting a metabolite of an animal or a plant or a microorganism as a raw material. Chemical synthesis additives are prepared by chemical synthesis using chemical substances as raw materials. According to the purpose of use and the nature of chemical substances, food additives can be classified into the following categories: (1) acids, bases, salts; (2) bulking agents; (3) antioxidants and synergists; (4) carrier solvents (5) food coloring; (6) emulsifier, stabilizer, thickener; (7) enzyme preparation for food processing; (8) antifoaming agent; (9) flavoring agent (10) bleaching agent; (11) Coloring agent; (12) quality improver; (13) sweetener; (14) preservative; (15) sour agent; (16) anti-caking agent; (17) coagulant and others. Food additives are not essential food ingredients. The role of food additives in baked goods: 1 is conducive to the preservation of food, to prevent food spoilage. All kinds of fresh foods, such as vegetable oil, margarine, biscuits, bread, cakes, moon cakes, etc., if not processed or processed improperly, often cause spoilage and deterioration, resulting in great losses. Preservatives, anti-mold agents, and antioxidants can prevent food spoilage caused by microorganisms and oxidation, and prolong the shelf life of foods. 2 improve the sensory quality of food. The color, aroma, taste, form and texture of food are important indicators for measuring food quality. Some foods are discolored and some discoloration, such as 裱花生日蛋糕; some taste, flavor, texture, taste and so on also change. Appropriate use of emulsifiers, thickeners, colorants, flavorants, sweeteners, sour agents, umamis, quality improvers and leavening agents can significantly improve the sensory quality of foods and meet the different needs of people. 3 maintain or improve the nutritional value of food. Food processing often also causes certain nutrient losses. Appropriate addition of certain food nutrition enhancers belonging to the range of natural nutrients during food processing can greatly enhance the nutritional value of foods. The application of food preservatives and antioxidants has a certain significance in maintaining the nutritional value of foods while preventing food spoilage. 4 increase the variety and convenience of food. The market is full of a variety of foods for consumers to choose from, most of which depend on anti-corrosion, anti-oxidation, emulsification, thickening, and the results of different coloring, flavoring, flavoring and even other food additives. It is these numerous foods that give people great convenience in their lives and work. 5 The use of flour treatment agents, thickening stabilizers, emulsifiers, etc. in food processing is conducive to the mechanization and automation of food processing operations and production. 6 to meet the different needs of people. For example, if a diabetic cannot eat sugar, a non-nutritive sweetener or a low-calorie sweetener can be used to make a sugar-free food, a low-sugar low-energy food. Hazard of food additives: In addition to the above beneficial effects, food additives can also have certain hazards, especially some varieties have certain toxicity. In particular, people are worried about the potential harm of long-term intake of food additives. At present, the most concern and concern is that the carcinogenic and teratogenic effects of some edible synthetic pigments may cause harm to humans. Sodium nitrite has long been used as a color protectant or color former for meat products. In addition to making the meat products beautiful, bright red, enhance the flavor of the meat products, and more importantly, it has antiseptic effect and can inhibit a variety of anaerobic Clostridium, especially Clostridium botulinum. Prevent botulism. Once botulism is poisoned, it may bring life risks to human beings, so it is of great significance in the processing and preservation of meat products. However, people not only realized that it has great toxicity, but also found that nitrite can also react with secondary amines to form nitrosamines, which has a strong carcinogenic effect. To date, no ideal product has been found to replace sodium nitrite, nor has there been any evidence that humans have cancer in low doses in meat products. At present, the production of nitrosamines is prevented and the threats are reduced by reducing the amount, strictly controlling the amount of residues, and simultaneously using ascorbic acid. Therefore, countries around the world are still generally licensed under the premise of strictly controlling their scope of use, usage and residue. Safe use of food additives: The most important thing for food additives is safety and effectiveness. Among them, security is more important. To ensure the safe use of food additives, they must be evaluated for safety. This is a comprehensive safety assessment based on national standards and hygiene requirements, based on the production process, physical and chemical properties, quality standards, use effects, scope, amount of addition, toxicological evaluation and testing methods of food additives. The most important of these is the toxicological evaluation. Countries generally determine the variety, use, scope, maximum use and/or maximum residue of food additives permitted in the form of regulations, such as hygienic standards for food additives. Since most of the existing food additives and all new food additives have been or must be subjected to rigorous toxicological tests and certain safety evaluations, it can be considered that the harm of food additives has been minimized. Level. It is worth pointing out that as long as the relevant provisions of the "Sanitary Standards for the Use of Food Additives" (GB 2460-1996) are strictly observed, the safety of food additives can be ensured, and the beneficial effects can be ensured as much as possible. Minimize the adverse effects that it may have on humans.