What are the hazards of food additives? Introduction to the hazards of different food additives

As people's living standards improve, their eating conditions are gradually improving. But among all kinds of foods, there are always various additives, such as preservatives, antioxidants, colorants, sweeteners and leavening agents. Some of these additives can make food keep longer, while others can improve the taste of food, but no matter what the function is, food additives may cause certain harm to the human body!

preservative

Many people believe that preservatives in food pose a threat to human health. However, if some foods do not use preservatives, they may cause pathogenic bacteria to grow in large numbers, posing a threat to health. Preservatives are commonly used in beverages, soy sauce, pickles, cakes and other foods. According to current data, they can be considered harmless to the human body.

Antioxidants

It is mostly added to vegetable oils (such as peanut oil and rapeseed oil) and foods containing oil (such as biscuits and cakes). If not added properly, the oils in such foods will easily become rancid and produce a rancid smell, which will not only reduce the quality of the oil, but also reduce the nutritional value accordingly, especially the effectiveness of the fat-soluble vitamins in the food will be destroyed. Commonly used ones include BHA, BHT, TBHQ and vitamin E. Among them, natural vitamin E is extracted from food, has a relatively high cost, and is generally used in products of relatively better quality.

Colorants

That is, food coloring, which can improve the appearance of food, but has neither nutritional value nor preservative effect. Some people think that it is purely for the sake of appearance, which is true to some extent.

Sweeteners

According to the source, it can be divided into two categories: natural and synthetic. Natural ones include various sugar alcohols such as xylitol and sorbitol (common in chewing gum), and non-sugars such as stevioside, licorice, mogroside, and thaumatin; the most common artificial synthetic ones are saccharin, aspartame, etc., and there are also sucrose derivatives such as sucralose and neotose. Sweeteners are widely used in beverages, candies, sauces and various snacks.

Leavening agent

Leavening agents are substances that can make the dough produce gas and become puffy and soft without fermentation. They are mainly used in the processing of cakes, biscuits, pastries, steamed buns, puffed bread, fried dough sticks, puffed foods, etc.