Food Additives: How They Work In Our Body
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines food additives as substances that are added to foods to maintain or improve their safety, texture, freshness, flavor or appearance.
Some have been used for centuries, such as salt, which we have always used for food preservation throughout history. Other food additives, on the other hand, have appeared along with modern industry.
The use of food additives is justified, in principle, by a technical need. The first objective is to guarantee the correct conservation of food and to maintain its nutritional qualities or to improve its stability.
However, these compounds are also meant to improve the flavor or appearance of some products. In any case, at least in theory, the recommendations of specialized bodies such as FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) must always be respected.
Classification of food additives
Food additives have different origins, namely vegetable, animal or mineral, and there is also a group that is produced synthetically.
Nowadays, the food industry uses thousands of these substances, which are added to foods for specific purposes. WHO and FAO divide them into three large groups:
- Flavoring : to improve the flavor or fragrance of the product.
- Preparations based on enzymes : they are natural proteins that catalyze chemical reactions and cannot be present in the final food product.
- Other additives : used to color or sweeten.
Health risks associated with food additives
Each country has its own specialized bodies that have the task of analyzing the impact that food additives have on human health. At the international level, WHO and FAO, who have formed a Joint Committee of Experts on Food Additives (JECFA), are mainly involved in this.
To find out if these substances may or may not be harmful to health, the amount that can be taken daily is established. It corresponds to the amount of additive present in food or drinking water that a person can consume in a day, without affecting his health.
Risk determination
The risks to which people are exposed when consuming food additives are specified in the Codex Alimentarius system . The formulation and publication of a Codex rule requires the involvement of various intergovernmental bodies, which conduct analyzes aimed at assessing the risk of each case; afterwards, they draw up a list, as well as draft rules, directives and recommendations.
The first step in the risk assessment is to identify the hazards. The latter are evaluated from a toxicological point of view.
Following this analysis, the amount of additive that can be consumed in a day is determined, in relation to the body weight of the people, without this entailing risks for their health. Finally, we proceed with a characterization of the dangers.
Most known side reactions
Food additives can cause various side reactions. This aspect particularly concerns those produced illegally, that is, not subject to control by specialized bodies. Medicine classifies these reactions into three main types:
- Allergic reactions : an immune mechanism is activated. Generally the substances that trigger an allergy are dyes.
- Non-immune mechanism intolerance or idiosyncrasy : an intolerance of unknown origin that the person who consumes the additive suffers from.
- Endocrine disruptors or neurotoxicity : they occur when substances interfere in the processes of synthesis or secretion of neurotransmitters in the brain.
Manifestations of undesirable effects of food additives
There are a number of manifestations or diseases related to these secondary reactions. The following list is a summary and does not exclude other manifestations nor is it to be considered conclusive about the side effects that can be caused by these substances. The best known effects are the following:
- Diseases of the respiratory system, such as asthma and rhinitis : in general they are the consequence of the effects that dyes have on the central nervous system.
- Skin reactions, such as hives and contact dermatitis : these diseases are more associated with the consumption of dyes and preservatives.
- Alterations of the central nervous system and of the endocrine system.
Not to be forgotten
Food additives are present in most of the foods we consume and buy every day. We should take the time to check the ingredients contained in the products we shop and make sure they are approved by a recognized body.
If you suspect an allergic reaction to a food, the best thing to do is to seek medical attention.
