Food additives, categories preservatives

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). 

Chemicals are added to food for (i) their preservation, (ii) enhancing their appeal, and (iii) adding nutritive value in them. Main categories of food additives are as follows ... 

Category I Analytical methods for quantitation of major components of food additives or processing aids (including preservatives). 

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. 

Food additives have been used for centuries to improve food quality. Smoke, alcohols, and spices have been extensively used for the last 10,000 years as additives for food preservation. The above-mentioned additives as well as a restricted number of additives comprised the main food additives until the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution brought so many changes in foods and asked for improved quality as well as quantity of the manufactured foods. For this reason many chemical substances were developed either for preservation or for color and/or odor enhancement. In the 1960s, over 2500 different chemical substances were used toward food manufacturing. In the United States over 2500 different additives were used to manufacture over 15,000 different foods. The desire for nutritional, functional, and tasty foods is an ongoing process. An additive is used to improve the shape, color, aroma, and extend the shelf life of a food. The following categories of additives are described ... 

Many chemical compounds in foods (as well as in feeds for livestock) are added intentionally as food additives. The purpose is to protect foods against spoilage, oxidation and increase some aspects of the food quality (e.g., nutritional value, aroma, taste, colour or texture). Preservatives, colours and flavours are the best-known additives, but there are in fact many categories of additives, each tailored to a specific purpose. 

Preservatives are one of the 26 major additives categories that are used in the food processing. To ensure that preservatives really do help make foodstuffs safer, their use is subject to premarket safety assessment and authorization procedures. At the European level, the bodies responsible for the safety assessment, authorization, control, and labeling of preservatives and other additives are the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Commission Parliament and Council. At the international level, there is a Joint Expert Committee from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Joint Expert Committee for Food Additives (JECFA) [2]. 

Among them are cheese (limit 0.3%) (149), baked goods (limit 0.23%) (150), and margarine (limit 0.1% individually or 0.2% in combination with other preservatives) (151,152). Other permitted food categories include salad dressings (153) and condiments, where the limit of addition is generally 0.2%. Thus users must ascertain whether their particular food products are subject to a standard and, if so, what limitations apply. 

Except for chemicals of category (vli), none of the above additives have nutritive value. These are added either to increase the shelf life of stored food or for cosmetic purposes. In this Section we will discuss only sweeteners and food preservatives. 

European Union Register of Feed Additives describes that acetic acid (E260) and its calcium (E263) and sodium salts (sodium diacetate E262) are preservatives for use in all animal species and categories without a time limit and without maximum levels. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued an opinion on the safety of calcium acetate added for nutritional purposes to food supplements (EFSA, 2009). 

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