Food Industry Additive

Media Image of Additives

I've often argued the case with friends and family when they see a media article slamming 'Food Additives'. It's always a headline and generally gives the impression to the public that all additives are  bad!
More recently there appears to be alot of studies coming out with reference to Hyperactivity in kids, health risk of long term consumption etc etc. This only reates to a small number of items, but the industry as a whole is getting the hit. It would be great to see more coverage of the essential benefits that the majority of additives give in food from extending shelf life to cope with extended logistics, to replacing 'natural' fats etc with healthier hydrocolloid solutions.

C is for......Caramel

Caramel usually occurs as a dark brown to black liquid or solid. It is a complex mixture of compounds, some of which are in the form of colloidal aggregates.Caramel is manufactured by heating carbohydrates, either alone or in the presence of food-grade acids, alkalies, and/or salts. Caramel is produced from commercially available, food-grade nutritive sweeteners consisting of fructose, dextrose (glucose), invert sugar, sucrose, malt syrup, molasses, and/or starch hydrolysates and fractions thereof. The acids that may be used are food-grade sulfuric, sulfurous, phosphoric, acetic, and citric acids; the alkalies are ammonium, sodium, potassium, and calcium hydroxides; and the salts are ammonium, sodium, and potassium carbonate, bicarbonate, phosphate (including mono- and dibasic), sulfate, and bisulfite. Food-grade antifoaming agents such as polyglycerol esters of fatty acids may be used as processing aids during its manufacture. Caramel is soluble in water.

Four distinct classes of Caramel can be distinguished by the reactants used in their manufacture and by specific identification tests:
Class I (Plain Caramel, Caustic Caramel) Prepared by heating carbohydrates with or without acids or alkalies; no ammonium or sulfite compounds are used.
Class II (Caustic Sulfite Caramel) Prepared by heating carbohydrates with or without acids or alkalies in the presence of sulfite compounds; no ammonium compounds are used.
Class III (Ammonia Caramel) Prepared by heating carbohydrates with or without acids or alkalies in the presence of ammonium compounds; no sulfite compounds are used.
Class IV (Sulfite Ammonia Caramel) Prepared by heating carbohydrates with or without acids or alkalies in the presence of both sulfite and ammonium compounds.

All of these Caramels should meet the criteria established for Caramel in this monograph.

REQUIREMENTS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Function	Color.
Ammoniacal Nitrogen(1)	Not more than 0.6%, calculated on an equivalent color basis.
Arsenic(2)	Not more than 1 mg/kg
Color Intensity(3)	Between 0.01 and 0.6 absorbance units (a.u.)
Lead(2)	Not more than 2 mg/kg
Mercury(2)	Not more than 0.1 mg/kg
4-Methylimidazole(1)	Not more than 0.025%, calculated on an equivalent color basis.
Sulfur Dioxide(1)	Not more than 0.2%, calculated on an equivalent color basis.
Total Nitrogen(1)	Not more than 3.3%, calculated on an equivalent color basis.
Total Sulfur(1)	Not more than 3.5%, calculated on an equivalent color basis.

(1) These tests are calculated on an equivalent color basis that permits the values to be expressed in terms of a Caramel having a color intensity standardized to 0.1 a.u.

(2) These tests are calculated on an as-is basis.

(3) Color Intensity is defined as the absorbance of a 0.1% (w/v) solution of Caramel in water measured in a 1-cm cell at 610 nm and is expressed on a Total Solids basis.

Read more about Caramel

Reproduced from www.caramel.com

B is for......BHA

Butylated hydroxyanisole is a food additive much more widely known by its abbreviation, BHA. BHA is an aromatic organic compound with the chemical names of 2- and 3-tert-butyl-4-methoxyphenol. It can exist in either of the two isomeric forms or as a mixture of the two isomers. In its pure form, BHA is a waxy white or pale yellow solid with a melting point of 118.4–131°F (48–55°C) and a boiling point of 507.2–518°F (264–270°C). It is normally insoluble in water, but can be treated in order to make it so.

The chemical property of BHA that is of greatest commercial interest is its tendency to reduce the rate at which other substances undergo oxidation. It has long been used as a preservative in foods containing fats, which turn rancid by oxidation. First used as an antioxidant in 1947, it is now added to a wide variety of foods, including beverages, ice cream, candy, baked goods, instant mashed potatoes, edible fats and oils, breakfast cereals, dry yeast, and sausages. The compound is sometimes used in conjunction with a related antioxidant, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT).

Some studies have found that BHA can produce allergic reactions and, in larger doses, affect liver and kidney functions. The Select Committee on GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) Substances of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported in 1980 that no evidence exists to indicate that BHA is a health hazard. However, it recommended caution in its use and suggested additional studies on possible risks to human health. Currently FDA regulations limit the concentration of BHA in commercial foods to 0.02% in products containing fats and oils and to somewhat higher concentrations in other food products. In spite of current FDA regulations, some nutrition experts have recommended that BHA be banned from use in foods on the grounds that safer antioxidant alternatives are available.

Butylated Hydroxyanisole