Food additives, categories antioxidants

In the latter Directive, except for antioxidants and preservatives, individual uses are not listed in either the basic Directive or in the Directives on purity criteria (specifications). In the EU, the functional use of the main additives permitted for use in processed foods are described in Directive 89/107/EC. There are 23 listed which are shown in Table 11.1. In this chapter we are concerned with 17 categories listed in the Directive 95/2/EC on food additives other than colours and sweeteners (these are indicated by an asterisk in Table 11.1). 

The standards and limits adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission are intended for formal acceptance by governments in accordance with its general principles. Codex Alimentarius permits only those antioxidants which have been evaluated by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) for use in foods. Antioxidants may be used only in foods standardised by Codex. The antioxidant provisions of Codex Commodity Standards are included in and superseded by the provision of this Standard. Food categories or individual foods where the use of additives are not allowed or are restricted are defined by this Standard. The primary objective of establishing permitted levels of use of antioxidants in various food groups is to ensure that the intake does not exceed the acceptable daily intake (ADI). 

The demand for healthy foods has led to the development of several entirely new healthy ingredient and additive categories (Heasman and Mellentin 2001 Sloan 2004). An entirely new sector of functional food ingredients has developed, including products such as omega-3 fatty acids and phytosterols for cardiovascular health, prebiotics and probiotics for gut health, antioxidants, polyphenols and phytochemicals, and bioactive peptides. The established vitamins and minerals sector has also benefited from this functional food trend, with more and more products being fortified with beneficial vitamins and minerals. 

Food additives used for the purpose of eight categories, such as antioxidant, preservative, food colour etc. shall be declared in both, substance name and category name. 

Butylated hydroxytoluene is an additive used as an antioxidant in foods, such as packet cake mixes, potato crisps, salted peanuts, and dehydrated mashed potatoes. In March 1990 the Danish Product Register listed 440 products containing butylated hydroxytoluene the content was below 50 ppm in 66% of these products the main categories were paints/lacquers and hardeners for paints, glues, and fillers [19 ]. The safety of butylated hydroxytoluene, and of a number of other food additives, has been critically reviewed in a Danish report [20 ]. 

We can divide food additives into five categories antimicrobial agents, antioxidants, artificial colors, artificial flavors and flavor enhancers, and stabilizers. 

Antioxidants should be labelled on the retail package with the specific chemical name or with the EC number. The legislation of member states of the EU is influenced by the decision taken within the EC. Some food standards are fully based on EC Directives and some are still based on national considerations. There may be differences between European states, for instance, the utilisation of ascorbic acid as antioxidant for egg products is permitted in France but prohibited in Germany. These differences concern usually the utilisation of antioxidants in various food commodities. The specification of antioxidants mentioned in EC Directives are respected by all member states. But it is still generally required that individual countries of the European Union as well as the central organisation should be approached. The requirements appearing in the EC Directives on additives must be applied by the member states. This means in the first place that for those categories of additives for which a Community positive list exists, member states may not authorise any additives which do not appear on the positive list. 

Specific methods have been established for quite a large number of compounds or analytic problems. Among these are amino acids, sugars in food, common organic adds in food, vitamins, and additives (e.g., antioxidants) in polymers. Column manufacturers may have an applications database from which they can recommend a column and a method. However, it is recommended to rely on literature methods only, if the methods are well established and have been proved out in many laboratories. EPA methods or pharmacopoeia methods fall into this category, but a single reference on a method for an uncommon analyte should be viewed with caution. It is not unconunon that such a method does not work or does not work well when duplicated. In such a case, we are actually better off to develop a new method ourselves. 

Nutraceuticals are nonspecific biological therapies used to promote wellness, prevent malignant processes, and control symptoms. It is a broad umbrella term used to describe any product derived from food soiuces that provides extra health benefits in addition to the basic nutritional value foimd in foods. The definition of nutraceuticals and related products often depends on the soiuce. Phytochemicals and antioxidants are two specific types of nutraceuticals. It has been proved that phytochemicals found in foods may help to provide protection from diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, for example, carotenoids found in carrots. Antioxidants may be helpful in avoiding chronic diseases, by preventing oxidative damage in body [8]. There are multiple different types of products that come imder the category of nutraceuticals ... 

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