Food additives are used by the food industry today for the purposes of extending the shelf life of foods, improving the sensory properties of foods, preserving the quality characteristics and preserving the nutritional value by helping food preparation.
Food additives began to be used intensively after the industrial revolution. Although the history of food additives started before Christ, the history of food additives dates back to the period before Christ. Salt and wood incense are the oldest known additives. The use of food dyes dates back to ancient Egypt (3500 BC).
The historical development of food additives was shaped by two effects;
The need for food preservation methods
>Better perception of the current quality of food
The world market of food additives reached 10 billion dollars in the 1900s and is expressed in much larger figures today. Many of today's food additives were discovered in the early 19th century along with developing technology.
The first record was made with calcium phosphates in the 1800s. There has been an explosion in the additives used in the last 30 years. There are around six thousand additives in total, most of which are aroma/flavoring agents. Today, more than 2000 additives are allowed to be used.
Two formats can be used to declare food additives on the label;
“function and name of the additive”,
“the additive's function and E code” are more common.
It is very important for the consumer to read the food label and know the E code. E code is an international symbol given to food additives whose toxicological research has been completed and the harmlessness dose has been determined. It shows the codes given to all specified food additives. It is an expression of security. But the limits are standard. There are no specific limits for age groups and gender.
Limits tell us how much of an additive can be added to a food without causing disease. It cannot guarantee that consuming a few packets of adulterated food during the day will not cause any disease. More importantly, the limits are for adults. For example, when adding an additive to a chocolate, 120 units are added because the limit of that substance is 2 units per kg for a 60 kilo person. this chocolate When a child weighing 30 kg consumes it, 4 units of additives per kg enter his body. This child would have consumed twice the limit set for that additive.
The tables show the additives and their health effects found in foods that are easily accessible in daily life and consumed by children.
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