Food Additives

Food Additives

By Stephanie Jean

What are food additives?

• Additives can be used to sweeten, flavour, colour, stabilize or preserve food.​

• Additives make food look and smell more appetizing, enhances its flavour and gives it a longer shelf-life, making food cheaper and more attainable.​

Open Ended

What are additives?

These prevent food from spoiling and extends shelf-life e.g. sodium nitrate used in bacon and cured meats

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Preservatives

These enhance natural flavour or adds flavour to food e.g. monosodium glutamate (MSG)

Flavourings

These increase sweetness of food e.g. splenda​

Sweeteners

These change the colour of food to make it more attractive e.g. tartrazine and sunset yellow for yellow colour​

Colourings/Dyes

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These give food a firmer or smooth texture, gives food a gel-like consistency. E.g. pectin used in jams

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Stabilisers, gelling agents and thickeners

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These allow water and oils to remain mixed together and prevents separation. E.g. lecithin used in mayonnaise

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Emulsifiers

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These are added to enhance vitamin content in food e.g. A and D added to margarine and C added to fruit juices

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Vitamins

Multiple Choice

Preservatives...

• prevents food from spoiling

• increases food sweetness

• enhances natural flavour of food

• gives food a firmer texture

Multiple Choice

Emulsifiers...

• gives food a gel-like consistency

• enhances vitamin content in food

• prevents oils and water from separating

• changes the colour of food to make them more attractive

Multiple Choice

MSG is an example of...

• a flavouring

• a dye

• an emulsifier

• a stabiliser

Open Ended

What do you think are some advantages of additives?

Open Ended

What do you think are some disadvantages of additives?