Food Additives

While the legal definition and regulation of food additives are different among countries and trading blocs, in its broadest sense, food additives are any substance, natural or artificial, added to food to achieve a particular technical effect. The use of food additives is not a modern practice. Since ancient times, people have used salt to preserve food, spices to enhance flavor, and various other additives to change the appearance of foods, such as saffron to lend a golden hue. Due to the ubiquity of processed foods, the worldwide food additives consumption dramatically increased throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. As the use of food additives became prevalent and the global food market expanded, national and international governmental bodies have developed food additives regulations. This entry ...