What are four reasons that food additives are added to food?

Enriching foods with nutrients is another function of food additives. Nutrients are added in amounts that do not exceed those found in the food before processing. Cereal products are a prime example of an enriched food to restore the original amount of nutrients prior to processing. Bread is another example in which the B-complex vitamins of thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2) and niacin (B3) are added to ensure proper proportions of these nutrients are present in the final product.

Color Improvement

cheeseThe color of food may be natural or artificial. Natural plant pigments - such as carotene, chlorophyll, and lycopene - help impart hues of orange, green and red, respectively. Without adding vegetable dye, Cheddar cheese would not have its orange color. Animal pigments, including myoglobin and heme, exist and serve to incorporate color in products such as meat.

There are many sources of naturally occurring colors, but many are not cost-effective. The use of artificial colors may be more economical. Synthetic colors generally excel in coloring power, color uniformity and color stability.

Improvement in Flavor

Flavoring agents are both natural and synthetic compounds to add flavor to food products. Examples of natural flavors include plant extracts, essential oils, herbs, spices and others.

A variety of synthetic flavor additives are also available. Examples of synthetic flavors include methyl salicylate and benzaldehyde which give wintergreen and cherry flavoring, respectively.

Altering Texture

Modifying recipes can be a challenging project. Replacing ingredients to reduce fat and calories, for example, can drastically change the texture, mouth-feel and other sensory properties.

The food manufacturer utilizes countless approved ingredients and chemicals to help modify texture. A simple compound, such as sucrose or table sugar, can be used in varying concentrations to achieve a variety of results. Sugar can affect a product based on its concentration. A dilute sugar solution adds body and mouthfeel to soft drinks, while a higher concentration will crystallize and add brittleness to hard candies.

Preparation Aid

Some food additives make food processing easier. Chemical defoamers, for example, may be used to minimize foaming in foods high in fat content. This problem can sometimes be controlled by making processing changes or by using mechanical defoaming equipment.