Food additives

 What are food additives?

Food additives have been used since humans first learned to preserve food items from harvest to enhance food additions and nutritional value.  The use of salt and smoke for preservation (smoking) dates back thousands of years.  The Egyptians used colours and flavourings to enhance the appeal of certain foods, while the Romans used salt for flavouring and various spices for preservation and curing.  New additives have begun to be discovered in the last century.  For example, emulsifiers in margarine, baking powder for cakes and gelling agents in jams.  In recent years, developments in food science and technology and changes in consumer demand have led to a significant increase in the use of food additives.  Food additives are used for low-calorie products containing margarine and polyunsaturated fats.

Additives are ingredients with a purpose: they are intentionally added to food products for safety, to increase the nutritional value or to increase food appeal.

For example, additives are used to improve the storage quality of food, prevent microbial spoilage, or delay oxidation that causes excessive fat loss.  Additives are used to prevent the deterioration of vitamins, essential amino acids and unsaturated fats to maintain the nutritional quality of food.  Additives are also sweeteners used in sweets or bulking agents used for those who want to reduce calorie intake.

The main purpose of additives is to increase the appeal of food products by maintaining or improving consistency, texture and sensory properties such as taste and colour.

The purposes for which food additives are used are grouped by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which operates in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Certain additives in food and beverages are included in relevant legal regulations.  Food additives make food safe and play an important role in the food supply to ensure that consumers' needs are met.

Our organization is committed to being with people who care about their nutrition and helping them make safe food choices.  In this context, it provides Food Safety System (FSS) certification services to support companies that produce, store, distribute and process food to prove their efforts in this direction.