Food Additives: The Soul of Modern Food Industry

The use of food additives is a significant signs of social development and technological progress, and is also a necessity in modern life. However, in recent years, due to the frequent occurrence of malignant events related to food safety in society, all problems have been attributed to food additives on the Internet, making people feel uneasy.

Actually, for humans, food additives have promted the development of the food industry. With the development of society and the trend of globalization, as long as food additives are used legally and correctly, they can bring many benefits to the food industry and human health.

Food additives can prevent food from spoiling and deteriorating

Except for a few substances such as salt, all kinds of fresh food from animals and plants, if not processed in time or improperly processed, often cause spoilage and deterioration, which requires the addition of preservatives and antioxidants. Preservatives can prevent microbial growth that causes spoilage and deterioration, extend the shelf life of food, and prevent food poisoning caused by microbial infection. Antioxidants can slow down or delay the oxidation and deterioration of food in the air, improve the stability of the food, and also prevent the formation of harmful oxidative products in fat. It is of special significance for food preservation.

Food additives can improve the sensory properties of food

The quality of food is mainly measured by its color, aroma, taste, shape, and texture. Some processed foods may fade or change color, and the flavor and texture of some foods may also change. Therefore, adding appropriate color protectants, food bleaches, food flavors, thickeners, emulsifiers, and other food additives can improve the sensory quality of food and meet people's different needs.

Food additives can increase the variety and convenience of food

Nowadays, supermarkets have as many as tens of thousands of foods for consumers to choose from. Most of these foods are processed through certain packaging and processing methods. They are mostly the result of the combination of preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifiers, and other additives. These foods bring great convenience to people's lives and work. With the development of modern society, some foods are required to save time and be convenient to use. Industrial, semi-finished, and convenience foods are also to serve the needs of modern people.

As an ingredient, food additives can meet the needs of special people. We all know that food should meet people's different needs as much as possible. For example, people with diabetes cannot eat sugar, so non-nutritive sweeteners such as sucralose or aspartame are used in sugar-free foods suitable for people with diabetes, or xylitol and sorbitol are used instead of sugar. For iodine-deficient areas, iodized salt can prevent local residents from suffering from iodine deficiency thyroid disease. In recent years, certain functional substances, such as flavonoids, have been developed to meet the needs of different people as functional additives.

To some extend, various of food additives are the neccessary part in people's life. Using food additives legally can benefit the food industry.