Common food additives

Food additives can be divided into 23 categories according to their functions. The food additives you often hear about include preservatives, thickeners, antioxidants, sweeteners, essence, spices, pigments, etc. Some of them may be unfamiliar to you, such as processing aids, nutrition enhancers, etc. There are currently around 2400 types of food additives approved for use in China.

Common preservatives such as Sodium benzoate in soy sauce, Potassium sorbate in jam; Common thickening agents such as pectin in yogurt, Xanthan gum gum in fruit juice; Common antioxidants such as TBHQ in edible oils; Common sweeteners such as Xylitol in chewing gum and Aspartame in beverages; Common pigments such as red koji in Fermented bean curd and caramel in drinks.

You may not be aware that vitamins C, E, and B2 are also food additives. There are also some things that do not look like food additives, but are actually members of this big family, such as nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, activated carbon, etc. in processing aids. Scientists will continue to develop new varieties with excellent performance, safety, and reliability to meet the needs of consumers and the food industry.

You see, if illegal additives are first mistaken for food additives, and at the same time, the harm caused by abuse is also added to food additives, it is no wonder that they are concerned about their safety and refuse to purchase. However, in fact, the rational use of food additives is safe, while illegal abuse of food additives, whether harmful or not, requires strict crackdown.