Learn about additives and see common food additive examples. Explore types of food additives. Understand why food additives are used and how they’re regulated.
Updated: 11/23/2021
What are Food Additives?
What are Food Additives?
Processed foods purchased from grocery stores include an ingredients list. Looking at the list, some are easily recognizable as food ingredients. Others are not easily recognizable and serve a different purpose from the food ingredients. These are the food additives. What are food additives? The food additives definition is any item that affects a food product, either directly or indirectly. Legally, the definition of a food additive is a bit different. Legally, a food additive is any item that is not on the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) item list. For the purposes of this lesson, the general definition of a food additive is used and not the legal definition.
Whole foods—foods that have not been majorly processed from their original form—are not on the GRAS list and are not considered food additives. Sliced carrots, for example, are not on the GRAS list and are not considered a food additive since the whole food has not been majorly altered. But beta carotene, on the other hand, is a food additive because the carrot has been majorly altered to extract the beta carotene. If the food additive is not currently on the GRAS list, then it needs to undergo premarket review before receiving FDA approval.
To be added to the GRAS list, a food additive must be shown to be safe and not cause adverse effects from its use. Beta carotene is on the GRAS list and listed as safe to consume.
What Is a Food Additive?
Look at the ingredient declaration on just about any product in the grocery store. Chances are you probably recognize the first few ingredients - flour, sugar, salt - because they are pretty basic ingredients that you probably have in your own kitchen. Yet as you go further down the list you start noticing some things that you don't recognize, such as monoglycerides, sorbic acid, and sodium benzoate. You may wonder what these ingredients are, what they are doing in your food, and whether or not they are safe. These types of ingredients are food additives.
A food additive is anything that affects food (directly or indirectly) or is a component of food. Legally, a food additive is anything added to food, or used in food preparation, that is not on the 'Generally Recognized as Safe' (GRAS) list. The GRAS list includes products such as flour, sugar, and salt - any ingredient that has been used for a long time and has shown no adverse effects; so food additives are ingredients that need government approval before they can be added to food.
When it comes to food additives, there is a lot of controversy over how safe they are and if they should be used. Before the government will approve a food additive, it needs to be proven not only that the additive is safe, but also that it doesn't cause any adverse effects. If further research ever shows a food additive to have adverse effects, then the government has the right to remove that additive from the approved list.
Types of Food Additives
Food additives serve many different purposes. Here is a list of various types of food additives. These are direct additives because these go directly into or onto the food and will be consumed together with the food.
- Anti-caking agents keep ingredients from getting lumpy before use. Pancake mixes and other mixes have anti-caking agents.
- Emulsifiers prevent fats from clumping together. Dressings have emulsifiers.
- Flavors enhance the taste in the food. MSG is a flavor enhancer.
- Preservatives keep foods from spoiling and growing mold. Most processed foods have preservatives.
- Glazing agents make foods look prettier and can also protect the food item. Apples often come with a glazing agent.
- Colors either add color or enhance the natural color of the food. Many processed food items such as juices contain added color.
- Artificial sweeteners add to the sweetness of a food. Many foods advertised as 0 sugars use artificial sweeteners.
- Stabilizers and firming agents keep foods from separating and increase their thickness and stability. Ice cream uses stabilizers.
The above is not an exhaustive list as there are many types of food additives. The above are common food additives found in foods at the grocery store.
Food additives serve various purposes and some foods have a combination of food additives to increase their shelf and storage life. Without these food additives, foods will spoil on their own, and sauces and mixtures will naturally separate if left alone. For example, mixtures with oil and water will naturally separate if left alone for just a few hours. Add in an emulsifier, however, and this mixture will stay together for a longer period of time.
While there are many types of food additives, the overarching goal of all of them is to keep food fresh and presentable for as long as possible. Food additives are the reason cereals stay fresh for months and cake mixes stay smooth for months, as well.
Food Additives Examples
Below is a list of food additives examples for each type and what food typically contains that food additive.
| Type | Food Additive | Common Food |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-caking agents | Magnesium stearate | Baby formula |
| Emulsifiers | Lecithin | Chocolate |
| Flavors | MSG | Noodle soup packets |
| Preservatives | Ascorbic acid | Fruit juice |
| Glazing agents | Beeswax | Cheese coating |
| Colors | Food coloring | Cakes |
| Artificial sweeteners | High fructose corn syrup | Soda |
| Stabilizers | Carrageenan | Coconut milk |
Why are Food Additives Used?
Food additives are added for three main reasons.
1. To increase safety and freshness
Food additives, such as ascorbic acid and other preservatives, are added to fresh foods to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and mold. Wax is a food additive used as a covering over the skin of apples and other fruits with skins to keep them looking pretty and to prevent them from oxidizing and turning brown.
2. To improve nutrition
Food additives are added to increase the nutritional value of food. Some processed foods lose their nutritional value during the processing stage. Food additives are then added to make up for that loss. Vitamin D is routinely added to milk to make sure children who drink milk are not deficient in vitamin D. Some food additives, such as ascorbic acid, serve a dual purpose. Ascorbic acid acts as both a preservative and a nutritional enhancer, as it provides vitamin C.
3. To improve appearance, texture, and taste
Food additives are also added to enhance the look of foods. Waxes are put on apples to make them look shiny with no brown spots. Emulsifiers and stabilizers are used to keep mixes, like sauces, creams, and dressings, from separating. Ice cream requires emulsifiers so its ingredients don't separate with storage. Flavor enhancers are also used to increase the flavor of foods. MSG is often added to many foods to enhance its flavor.
Some food additives are naturally derived while others are synthetic, made by humans in a laboratory with chemicals. As of 2021, there are currently over 3,000 items that are approved to be added to food by the FDA.
Food Additives and Regulations
The safety of food additives has always been a concern for consumers. The food additives the FDA has approved have been shown to be safe for most people. There may be some people who need to avoid certain food additives. For example, some people are gluten intolerant and therefore need to avoid gluten. The same is true for some of the food additives. Some people cannot take artificial sweeteners, so they need to avoid foods using those artificial sweeteners.
Every food additive goes through an approval process with the FDA before it is approved for use with food. Food additives that have already been approved are on the GRAS list. To get approved, the FDA considers the following.
- The properties and composition of the additive
- How much is usually consumed
- Immediate health effects, as well as long-term health effects
- Safety factors
After an additive is approved, it is listed on the GRAS list with the allowable amounts that can be used. The FDA also lists how safe they think that additive is. They base this on the best scientific evidence they have. Of course, new additives always carry with them a certain degree of risk or harm. New additives are watched to see if there are any adverse effects from the addition. Changes to the GRAS list are made if an additive is shown to be harmful.
The FDA keeps a food additive in their approved list as long as the majority of people do not have adverse effects from it. This does not mean that everybody can ingest the additives with no ill effects. Some may be allergic to an ingredient and therefore need to stay away from foods that include that additive. For example, Yellow No. 5 is approved in the United States while banned in parts of Europe. While some studies have linked this food color to hyperactivity in children as well as to aggravated asthma, others have not shown this connection. The FDA, therefore, feels there may be other unknown factors that are causing those issues and have not banned Yellow No. 5.
Indirect Food Additives
In addition to direct additives, indirect food additives also need FDA approval. Indirect food additives are those additives used to prepare and package food items. These additives are not added as ingredients, but the ingredients do come into contact with these additives. As a result of this contact, some of the material may rub off on the food and be ingested by the consumer. Anything that comes into contact with the food ingredients must also pass the FDA approval process to ensure food safety. For example, the glue used to put labels on food containers must pass the FDA process.
Lesson Summary
In review, food additives are any item that affects a food product, either directly or indirectly. Legally, a food additive is any item that is not on the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) item list. Direct additives go directly into or onto the food and will be consumed together with the food. Indirect food additives are those additives used to prepare and package food items. These additives are not added as ingredients, but the ingredients do come into contact with these additives. There are many types of direct additives. Some common ones include preservatives, anti-caking agents, colors, and stabilizers. Some food additives are controversial such as Yellow No. 5. This food coloring has been shown to increase hyperactivity in kids as well as aggravate asthma in some studies while other studies show it is safe.
The three main reasons for using food additives are the following.
- To increase safety and freshness
- To improve nutrition
- To improve appearance, texture, and taste
Why Are Food Additives Used?
Frequently, food companies use food additives in order to ensure that their products are stable and uniform. Most food we buy at the grocery store isn't very fresh, and one thing about food is that it never stays good for very long; so in this day and age where most of the food we eat isn't fresh, food additives are added abundantly. There are many other reasons for food additives being used as well.
Food additives can be used as a preservative, no-calorie sweetener, color, flavor, fat replacer, nutrient addition, emulsifier, stabilizer, thickener, pH control, leavening, anti-caking agent, humectant (to hold in moisture), dough strengthener, and enzyme preparation.
Examples of Food Additives
There are many food additives that are used as a preservative, such as ascorbic acid, potassium sorbate, sodium nitrite, and calcium sorbate. These food additives can prevent oxidation of fats, which cause an off-flavor to develop; prevent the growth of microbes by changing the acidity; and prevent other changes in flavor. Preservative-type food additives can be found in anything from canned fruits and vegetables to breads and meats.
Nutrients are frequently added to food, such as adding iron and thiamine into flour. Sometimes these nutrients are even mandated by law to be added. Since most nutrients are removed from flour in the processing, the government requires producers to add many of the nutrients back into the flour. Other times nutrients are added simply to increase the nutritional value of the product.
Here are some different types of food additives:
- Preservatives: ascorbic acid, calcium sorbate, and sodium nitrite
- Color additives: fruit and vegetables juices, yellow 5, and beta-carotene
- Flavors and spices: 'real' vanilla or 'artificial' vanilla
- Flavor enhancers: MSG and yeast
- Emulsifiers: soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides
- Stabilizers and thickening agents: whey, guar gum, and gelatin
This is not a comprehensive list of all approved food additives, just an example of the uses of some of the food additives you may see on an ingredients list.
Indirect Food Additives
Food additives can also be indirect food additives. While these food additives are not listed on an ingredient declaration, they still need to be approved by the government before they can be used. This includes packaging products, processing equipment, and storage conditions; so even the glue used to attach a label to a water bottle needs to be approved by the government. This is done because trace amounts of the product might end up in the food, so the government wants to ensure the product is safe.
Controversial Food Additives
For many centuries, color has been added to enhance the desirability of food. In the past, anything from petal extractions and paprika to mercury and lead have been used to color food. Today, some plant extractions are still used to color food, but the colorants that we now know to be dangerous have been banned. New colorants have been developed that are simply named based on the color they produce, such as yellow 5 and blue 2. These are chemicals that have a specific hue, and when they are added to food they impart that hue to the food as well.
The safety of some of these colorants is still debated. For example, yellow 5 has been banned in some European countries. The European Food Standards Agency has not banned it completely, but has encouraged companies to remove it (and other artificial colorants) from their products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - the government agency in charge of food in the United States - has not banned its use.
Yellow 5 has been shown by some studies to increase hyperactivity in children, yet other studies have shown that it does not. It has also been shown to aggravate asthma in some studies but not in others. Since there are still mixed results in the studies, many government agencies have still not completely banned colorants from products, because they feel that the studies that do show adverse effects may have a compounding factor (a factor not being studied) causing the results.
The most common flavor enhancer is monosodium glutamate (MSG). MSG gives a savory, meaty flavor to products. Many people feel that they have a sensitivity to MSG, causing them to have an allergic-type reaction. Most studies show that it is extremely rare for someone to have a sensitivity to MSG, yet many people continue to think they have a sensitivity to it. This has caused many people to want it removed from food, but since scientific experiments have not shown MSG to be harmful, the government hasn't removed it from the list of acceptable additives. So those who feel they have a sensitivity to MSG need to check food labels before eating anything.
Lesson Summary
Food additives are anything that is added to food or can affect food. Most food that you find in your own cupboard will be on the GRAS list, yet any other product needs to be approved by the government before it can be used. This includes direct and indirect food additives. Food additives can be used as a preservative, nutrient, color, flavor, emulsifier, stabilizer, or for many other reasons. Several of these food additives are controversial due to mixed results in studies suggesting that they may be dangerous.
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Video Transcript
What Is a Food Additive?
Look at the ingredient declaration on just about any product in the grocery store. Chances are you probably recognize the first few ingredients - flour, sugar, salt - because they are pretty basic ingredients that you probably have in your own kitchen. Yet as you go further down the list you start noticing some things that you don't recognize, such as monoglycerides, sorbic acid, and sodium benzoate. You may wonder what these ingredients are, what they are doing in your food, and whether or not they are safe. These types of ingredients are food additives.
A food additive is anything that affects food (directly or indirectly) or is a component of food. Legally, a food additive is anything added to food, or used in food preparation, that is not on the 'Generally Recognized as Safe' (GRAS) list. The GRAS list includes products such as flour, sugar, and salt - any ingredient that has been used for a long time and has shown no adverse effects; so food additives are ingredients that need government approval before they can be added to food.
When it comes to food additives, there is a lot of controversy over how safe they are and if they should be used. Before the government will approve a food additive, it needs to be proven not only that the additive is safe, but also that it doesn't cause any adverse effects. If further research ever shows a food additive to have adverse effects, then the government has the right to remove that additive from the approved list.
Why Are Food Additives Used?
Frequently, food companies use food additives in order to ensure that their products are stable and uniform. Most food we buy at the grocery store isn't very fresh, and one thing about food is that it never stays good for very long; so in this day and age where most of the food we eat isn't fresh, food additives are added abundantly. There are many other reasons for food additives being used as well.
Food additives can be used as a preservative, no-calorie sweetener, color, flavor, fat replacer, nutrient addition, emulsifier, stabilizer, thickener, pH control, leavening, anti-caking agent, humectant (to hold in moisture), dough strengthener, and enzyme preparation.
Examples of Food Additives
There are many food additives that are used as a preservative, such as ascorbic acid, potassium sorbate, sodium nitrite, and calcium sorbate. These food additives can prevent oxidation of fats, which cause an off-flavor to develop; prevent the growth of microbes by changing the acidity; and prevent other changes in flavor. Preservative-type food additives can be found in anything from canned fruits and vegetables to breads and meats.
Nutrients are frequently added to food, such as adding iron and thiamine into flour. Sometimes these nutrients are even mandated by law to be added. Since most nutrients are removed from flour in the processing, the government requires producers to add many of the nutrients back into the flour. Other times nutrients are added simply to increase the nutritional value of the product.
Here are some different types of food additives:
- Preservatives: ascorbic acid, calcium sorbate, and sodium nitrite
- Color additives: fruit and vegetables juices, yellow 5, and beta-carotene
- Flavors and spices: 'real' vanilla or 'artificial' vanilla
- Flavor enhancers: MSG and yeast
- Emulsifiers: soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides
- Stabilizers and thickening agents: whey, guar gum, and gelatin
This is not a comprehensive list of all approved food additives, just an example of the uses of some of the food additives you may see on an ingredients list.
Indirect Food Additives
Food additives can also be indirect food additives. While these food additives are not listed on an ingredient declaration, they still need to be approved by the government before they can be used. This includes packaging products, processing equipment, and storage conditions; so even the glue used to attach a label to a water bottle needs to be approved by the government. This is done because trace amounts of the product might end up in the food, so the government wants to ensure the product is safe.
Controversial Food Additives
For many centuries, color has been added to enhance the desirability of food. In the past, anything from petal extractions and paprika to mercury and lead have been used to color food. Today, some plant extractions are still used to color food, but the colorants that we now know to be dangerous have been banned. New colorants have been developed that are simply named based on the color they produce, such as yellow 5 and blue 2. These are chemicals that have a specific hue, and when they are added to food they impart that hue to the food as well.
The safety of some of these colorants is still debated. For example, yellow 5 has been banned in some European countries. The European Food Standards Agency has not banned it completely, but has encouraged companies to remove it (and other artificial colorants) from their products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - the government agency in charge of food in the United States - has not banned its use.
Yellow 5 has been shown by some studies to increase hyperactivity in children, yet other studies have shown that it does not. It has also been shown to aggravate asthma in some studies but not in others. Since there are still mixed results in the studies, many government agencies have still not completely banned colorants from products, because they feel that the studies that do show adverse effects may have a compounding factor (a factor not being studied) causing the results.
The most common flavor enhancer is monosodium glutamate (MSG). MSG gives a savory, meaty flavor to products. Many people feel that they have a sensitivity to MSG, causing them to have an allergic-type reaction. Most studies show that it is extremely rare for someone to have a sensitivity to MSG, yet many people continue to think they have a sensitivity to it. This has caused many people to want it removed from food, but since scientific experiments have not shown MSG to be harmful, the government hasn't removed it from the list of acceptable additives. So those who feel they have a sensitivity to MSG need to check food labels before eating anything.
Lesson Summary
Food additives are anything that is added to food or can affect food. Most food that you find in your own cupboard will be on the GRAS list, yet any other product needs to be approved by the government before it can be used. This includes direct and indirect food additives. Food additives can be used as a preservative, nutrient, color, flavor, emulsifier, stabilizer, or for many other reasons. Several of these food additives are controversial due to mixed results in studies suggesting that they may be dangerous.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are additives used for?
Additives are used to enhance the look of food and to help preserve it. Other additives also increase the nutritional value of processed foods.
What is one example of a food additive?
One example of a food additive is carrageenan. This additive acts as a stabilizer and emulsifier. Carrageenan is added to ice cream to keep it at its creamy consistency.
What is the most common additive in food?
MSG, a flavor enhancer, is a common additive. Food coloring is also a common additive. MSG is added to many foods to enhance their flavor. Food coloring is added to many foods to enhance their appearance. Juices have food coloring to make them look pretty.
Are additives bad for you?
The FDA has approved over 3,000 food additives as generally safe. Some people may have allergies to certain additives and will therefore need to avoid those additives.
What are examples of additives?
Examples of additives are preservatives and emulsifiers. Other types include flavor enhancers. MSG is a common flavor enhancer. Ascorbic acid is a preservative and also a nutritional enhancer.
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Food Additives Examples, Types & List | What are Food Additives?
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