Know Your Food, Ft. "Additives"

We eat everyday, at least 3 times a day. 90 times a month & 1095 times a year sometimes more or less. Shouldn't we know all about it - Food? Do we? We must.

Like everything around us our food also keeps evolving, through us, our societies and our lifestyles and also our perception of it. The psychological relationship one has with their food also impacts its outcomes within our mind and body. As in the modern times our population grows rapidly so does the innovation in everything else including our food.

Almost all of us today are consumers of packaged food. Most of the food grown or produced today is done for a mass consumption it is difficult for the economics to work otherwise. The requirements of food shift slightly when economies depend on it or it is required to have a longer shelf life. Our modern cities are not designed to accommodate space for food so the food has to come from far away! Another requirement observed over the years is that people want their food to look good too. Good shape and size, fresh looks etc. And the market is so competitive that the suppliers would go that extra mile to enhance the appealing factor in their food. Therefore, the existence of additives have more commonly become a part of our daily food than it is common knowledge.

Do you know? Salt, Sugar, Lemon and the likes can also be used as additives to preserve food. There are all sorts of additives being used in the industry, natural, chemical, and even synthetic for the food to reach its end user while it still is edible.

R&D is a continues part in our industry today, and so is quality monitoring. Though there are challenges such as understanding long term effects of different additive we consume over the years, however there are initiatives in place from organizations like WHO.

Their website states that, "WHO, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is responsible for assessing the risks to human health from food additives. Risk assessment of food additives are conducted by an independent, international expert scientific group – the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).

Only food additives that have undergone a JECFA safety assessment, and are found not to present an appreciable health risk to consumers, can be used. This applies whether food additives come from a natural source or they are synthetic. National authorities, either based on the JECFA assessment or a national assessment, can then authorize the use of food additives at specified levels for specific foods.

JECFA evaluations are based on scientific reviews of all available biochemical, toxicological, and other relevant data on a given additive – mandatory tests in animals, research studies and observations in humans are considered. The toxicological tests required by JECFA include acute, short-term, and long-term studies that determine how the food additive is absorbed, distributed, and excreted, and possible harmful effects of the additive or its by-products at certain exposure levels.

The starting point for determining whether a food additive can be used without having harmful effects is to establish the acceptable daily intake (ADI). The ADI is an estimate of the amount of an additive in food or drinking water that can be safely consumed daily over a lifetime without adverse health effects. The Codex Alimentarius Commission also establishes standards and guidelines on food labelling. These standards are implemented in most countries, and food manufacturers are obliged to indicate which additives are in their products."

But the responsibility to ensure that the guidelines are met lies on the officials within each country.

Rice; Stock Image

Mango; Stock Image

Vegetables; Stock Image

Fruits; Stock Image