Additives
Should I be concerned about food additives?
Food additives are substances added to food to maintain or improve its safety, freshness, taste, texture, or appearance. In the European Union, all additives from sweeteners to food colouring are evaluated before they are permitted for use in food.
Different types of food additives have been developed over time, as making food on a large scale is very different from making them on a small scale at home. Additives are needed to ensure processed food remains safe and in good condition as it travels through the food supply chain from factories or industrial kitchens to warehouses and shops, and finally on to our plates.
Some food ingredients have been in use for centuries for preservation – such as salt (in meats such as bacon or dried fish), sugar (in marmalade), or sulphur dioxide (in wine). While some additives are used to enhance the appearance of food, such as food colouring.
All food additives are evaluated to make sure they are safe to consume. We look at how the chemicals interact with the food they are added to, how they could affect our body when ingested and how much we can safely consume everyday through our diet. Once permitted, and if used in a food product, food additives must appear on the label. So consumers know what they are consuming and can trust that its safe.
Camilla Smeraldi, a toxicologist at EFSA.
In the European Union all food additives are identified by an E number. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) evaluates the safety of new food additives or proposed new uses of existing food additives before they can be authorised for use in the EU. It also re-evaluates food additives that have been permitted for a long time to ensure that they are still fit for use.
Food additives are always included in the ingredient lists of foods in which they are used. Product labels must identify both the function of the additive in the finished food (e.g. colour, preservative) and the specific substance used either by referring to the appropriate E number or its name (e.g. E 415 or Xanthan gum).