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Food additives
Foodadditivesarechemicalsaddedtofoodstokeepthemfreshortoenhancetheircolour,flavour ortexture.Theymayincludefoodcolourings(suchastartrazineorcochineal),flavourenhancers (suchasMSG)orarangeofpreservatives. Mostfoodadditivesarelistedontheproductlabel,alongwithotheringredients,inadescending orderbyweight(flavoursareanexceptionanddonotneedtobeidentified).Sometimes,the additiveisspeltoutinfull.Atothertimes,itisrepresentedbyacodenumber:forexample, cochinealmaybelistedasColouring(120);sodiumsulphitemaybeshownasPreservative(221).

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Animal tests for food additive safety

FoodStandardsAustraliaNewZealand(FSANZ)isresponsiblefortheapprovalofwhichfood additivesareallowedinAustralianfoods.AllfoodadditivesusedinAustraliaundergoasafety assessment,whichincludesrigoroustesting,beforetheyareapproved. Toxicologicaltestsonanimalsareusedtodeterminetheamountoftheadditivethatisexpectedto besafewhenconsumedbyhumans.Thisisusuallyanamount100timeslessthanthemaximum dailydoseatwhichnoobservableeffectsareproducedbyanadditiveconsumedoverthetest animalslifetime. Ifthereisanydoubtoverthesafetyofanadditive,approvalisnotgiven.Ifnewscientific informationbecomesavailablesuggestingthatafoodadditiveisnolongersafe,theapprovalto usethefoodadditivewouldbewithdrawn.

Combined effects not known

Mostfoodadditivesaretestedinisolation,ratherthanincombinationwithotheradditives.The long-termeffectsofconsumingacombinationofdifferentadditivesarecurrentlyunknown.

Some people are sensitive to some additives

Somepeoplearesensitivetoparticularfoodadditivesandmayhavereactionslikehivesor diarrhoea.Thisdoesntmeanthatallfoodscontainingadditivesneedtobeautomaticallytreated withsuspicion.Allfoodsaremadeupofchemicalsandfoodadditivesarenotalwayslesssafe thannaturallyoccuringchemicals.Manyofthefoodadditivesusedbythefoodindustryalsooccur naturallywithinfoodsthatpeopleeateveryday.Forexample,MSGisfoundnaturallyinparmesan cheese,sardinesandtomatoinsignificantlygreaterquantitiesthantheMSGpresentasafood additive.Peoplewithfoodallergiesandintolerancesarealsooftensensitivetochemicalsfound naturallyincertainfoods,suchasnutsorshellfish.

There are worse things to fear than food additives

Manypeopleviewfoodadditivesasamajorfoodthreat.However,intermsofhealthrisk,food additiveswouldcomeinattheendoftheline,afterfood-bornemicroorganisms(likesalmonella), inappropriatehygieneandeatinghabits,environmentalcontaminantsandnaturallyoccurring toxins.

Types of food additives

Thedifferenttypesoffoodadditiveandtheirusesinclude: Anti-caking agentsstopingredientsfrombecominglumpy. Antioxidantspreventfoodsfromoxidising,orgoingrancid.

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Artificial sweetenersincreasethesweetness. Emulsifiersstopfatsfromclottingtogether. Food acidsmaintaintherightacidlevel. Coloursenhanceoraddcolour. Humectantskeepfoodsmoist. Flavoursaddflavour. Flavour enhancersincreasethepowerofaflavour. Foaming agents maintainuniformaerationofgasesinfoods. Mineral saltsenhancetextureandflavour. Preservativesstopmicrobesfrommultiplyingandspoilingthefood. Thickeners and vegetable gumsenhancetextureandconsistency. Stabilisers and firming agentsmaintainevenfooddispersion. Flour treatmentimprovesbakingquality. Glazing agentimprovesappearanceandcanprotectfood. Gelling agents alterthetextureoffoodsthroughgelformation. Propellantshelppropelfoodfromacontainer. Raising agents increasethevolumeoffoodthroughtheuseofgases. Bulking agents increasethevolumeoffoodwithoutmajorchangestoitsavailable energy.

Food additives and processed foods

Thereisacommonmisconceptionthatprocessedfoodsautomaticallycontainfoodadditives.Foods likelong-lifemilk,cannedfoodsandfrozenfoodsareallprocessed,yetnoneofthemneedextra chemicals. Ifyouareunsurewhetherornotaproductcontainsanadditive,checkthelabel.However,some listedingredientsmaycontainfoodadditiveswithoutmentioningthemonthelabel.Forinstance, margarinemightbealistedingredientandmargarinecontainsfoodadditives.

Some food additives can cause reactions

Formostpeople,additivesarenotaproblemintheshortterm.However,50ofthe400currently approvedadditivesinAustraliahavebeenassociatedwithadversereactionsinsomepeople.Some foodadditivesaremorelikelythanotherstocausereactionsinsensitivepeople. Itisoftentheadditivesthatareusedtogiveafoodamarketablequality,suchascolour,thatmost commonlycauseallergicreactions.Someofthesehypersensitivereactionsinclude: Digestive disordersdiarrhoeaandcolickypains Nervous disordershyperactivity,insomniaandirritability Respiratory problemsasthma,rhinitisandsinusitis Skin problemshives,itching,rashesandswelling.

Itisimportanttorealisethatmanyofthesymptomsexperiencedasaresultoffoodsensitivities canbecausedbyotherdisorders.Medicaldiagnosisisimportant.Ifyoutrytodiagnoseyourself, youmayrestrictyourdietunnecessarilyandneglectanillness.

Some common additives that may cause problems

Somefoodadditivesthatmaycauseproblemsforsomepeopleinclude: Flavour enhancersmonosodiumglutamate(MSG)621 Food colouringstartrazine102;yellow2G107;sunsetyellowFCF110;cochineal120 Preservativesbenzoates210,211,212,213;nitrates249,250,251,252;sulphites 220,221,222,223,224,225and228 Artificial sweetener aspartame951.

Diagnosing food additive sensitivity

Ifyouthinkyoumayhaveafoodadditivesensitivity,itsimportanttoseekprofessionalhelpsince allofthesymptomsyoumaybeexperiencingcanalsobecausedbyotherdisorders.

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Itmayhelptokeepafooddiaryandnotecarefullyanyadversereactions.Inthecaseofa sensitivitybeingidentified,theusualpracticeistoeliminateallsuspectfoodsfromthedietand thenreintroducethemonebyonetoseewhichadditive(oradditives)causesthereaction.This shouldonlybedoneundermedicalsupervision,sincesomeofthereactionssuchasasthma canbeserious.

Where to get help

Yourdoctor DietitiansAssociationofAustraliaTel.1800812942

Things to remember

Foodadditivesarechemicalsthatkeepfoodsfreshorenhancetheircolour,flavouror texture. Asmallpercentageofpeoplearesensitivetosomefoodadditives. Diagnosingsensitivitytofoodadditivesneedsprofessionalhelp,sinceallofthesymptoms ofsensitivitycanalsobecausedbyotherdisorders.

This page has been produced in consultation with, and approved by:

DeakinUniversity-SchoolofExerciseandNutritionSciences
Contentonthiswebsiteisprovidedforeducationandinformationpurposesonly.Information aboutatherapy,service,productortreatmentdoesnotimplyendorsementandisnotintendedto replaceadvicefromyourdoctororotherregisteredhealthprofessional.Contenthasbeen preparedforVictorianresidentsandwiderAustralianaudiences,andwasaccurateatthetimeof publication.Readersshouldnotethat,overtime,currencyandcompletenessoftheinformation maychange.Allusersareurgedtoalwaysseekadvicefromaregisteredhealthcareprofessional fordiagnosisandanswerstotheirmedicalquestions. Forthelatestupdatesandmoreinformation,visitwww.betterhealth.vic.gov.au Copyight 1999/2013StateofVictoria.ReproducedfromtheBetterHealthChannel (www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)atnocostwithpermissionoftheVictorianMinisterforHealth. Unauthorisedreproductionandotherusescomprisedinthecopyrightareprohibitedwithout permission.

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