Food additives are substances added to food for technical purposes during processing or manufacturing. They are not typically consumed as a food item on their own nor are they usual ingredients in basic foods. Primarily used in processed and industrially produced foods, food additives play a crucial role in ensuring food safety, extending shelf life, and enhancing sensory qualities like taste, texture, and appearance. Before being approved for use, all food additives undergo rigorous safety assessments by authoritative bodies at national, regional, and international levels to protect human health. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is the globally recognized body for evaluating the safety of food additives in international food trade.
Over time, the food industry has developed a wide array of food additives to meet the demands of large-scale food production and distribution. These additives are essential in maintaining food safety and quality as products travel from manufacturing facilities and industrial kitchens through warehouses and retail stores to consumers’ tables. Beyond safety and preservation, food additives are also employed to modify and improve the sensory attributes of food, influencing our perception of taste, smell, texture, and visual appeal.
Food additives can originate from natural sources like plants, animals, or minerals, or they can be produced synthetically through chemical processes. Thousands of different food additives are in use today, each designed for a specific purpose. These additives can be broadly classified into three main categories based on their function: flavouring agents, enzyme preparations, and other additives like preservatives, colorings, and sweeteners.
Flavouring agents are chemical compounds that impart specific tastes or aromas to food, enhancing or modifying its flavour profile. They represent the most extensive category of food additives, encompassing hundreds of diverse substances used across a wide spectrum of food products, from candies and soft drinks to cereals, baked goods, and yogurts. Flavouring agents can be extracted from natural sources such as plants or animals, or they can be created synthetically. Flavours derived directly from natural sources are often labeled as “natural flavours.” It’s also possible to synthesize these natural flavour molecules, sometimes referred to as “nature-identical” or “nature-made,” indicating that while the flavour molecule is naturally occurring, it’s produced synthetically rather than extracted. Artificial flavouring agents, on the other hand, are synthetic chemicals not found in nature, designed to mimic natural flavours or create novel taste sensations. While culinary ingredients such as spices, nuts, and dried fruits can also modify the taste and aroma of food, they are generally not classified as flavouring agents in the context of food additives.
Enzyme preparations are additives that may or may not remain in the final food product after processing. Enzymes are naturally occurring proteins that accelerate biochemical reactions by breaking down complex molecules into simpler components. They can be obtained from plant, animal, or microbial sources like bacteria and are utilized as alternatives to chemical processing techniques. Enzyme preparations find significant application in baking to improve dough properties, in fruit juice production to increase juice yield, in winemaking and brewing to enhance fermentation processes, and in cheese manufacturing to improve curd formation.
Beyond flavouring agents and enzyme preparations, a range of other food additives serves diverse purposes, including preservation, coloring, and sweetening. These additives are incorporated during food preparation, packaging, transportation, or storage, ultimately becoming components of the final food product.
Preservatives work to inhibit or slow down decomposition caused by molds, air, bacteria, or yeast. In addition to maintaining food quality and preventing spoilage, preservatives play a vital role in controlling contamination that can lead to foodborne illnesses, including serious conditions like botulism.
Coloring agents are added to food to restore color lost during processing or production, or to enhance the visual appeal of food products, making them more attractive to consumers.
Non-sugar sweeteners are frequently used as substitutes for sugar, offering fewer or no calories when added to food and beverages. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently advised against the general use of non-sugar sweeteners for weight control, based on evidence suggesting they may not provide long-term benefits for weight management and could potentially increase the risk of certain noncommunicable diseases.
The safety of food additives is paramount, and therefore, they undergo thorough evaluations for potential harmful effects on human health before they are authorized for use. National, regional, and international authoritative bodies are responsible for conducting these safety assessments. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is the leading international body responsible for evaluating the safety of food additives intended for use in foods traded globally.
WHO, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), plays a crucial role in assessing the health risks associated with food additives. These risk assessments are performed by JECFA, an independent, international group of scientific experts.
Only food additives that have been subjected to a JECFA safety assessment and are determined not to pose a significant health risk to consumers are permitted for international use. This principle applies regardless of whether food additives are derived from natural sources or are synthetically produced. National authorities can then authorize the use of specific food additives in particular foods at specified levels, based on JECFA assessments or their own national evaluations.
JECFA evaluations are grounded in scientific reviews of all available biochemical, toxicological, and other relevant data pertaining to a given additive. This includes mandatory animal testing, research studies, and human observations. The toxicological studies required by JECFA encompass acute, short-term, and long-term studies to determine how the food additive is absorbed, distributed, and eliminated by the body, as well as any potential harmful effects of the additive or its metabolic by-products at various levels of exposure.
The establishment of an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) is the starting point for determining the safe use of a food additive. The ADI represents an estimate of the amount of a food additive in food or drinking water that can be consumed daily over a lifetime without causing adverse health effects.
The safety assessments conducted by JECFA are utilized by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a joint intergovernmental food standards body of FAO and WHO, to establish maximum use levels for additives in food and beverages. Codex standards serve as benchmarks for national consumer protection standards and for international food trade, ensuring that consumers worldwide can be confident in the safety and quality of the food they consume, irrespective of its origin.
Once JECFA has confirmed the safety of a food additive and maximum use levels are defined in the Codex General Standard for Food Additives, national food regulations are implemented to authorize the actual use of the additive.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission also develops standards and guidelines for food labeling. These standards are widely implemented across countries, requiring food manufacturers to declare the additives present in their products. For instance, the European Union has legislation governing the labeling of food additives using a system of pre-defined E-numbers. Individuals with allergies or sensitivities to specific food additives should carefully review food labels.
WHO encourages national authorities to monitor and ensure that food additives in food and drinks produced within their countries comply with permitted uses, conditions, and legislation. National authorities are responsible for overseeing the food industry, which bears the primary responsibility for ensuring the safe and legal use of food additives.
