Food Additives Essay

Question

Do synthesised food additives, such as esters and aromatic hydrocarbons, have a negative impact on humans?

Introduction

In the modern world, refined foods are packed with additives, flavourants and colourants, masked as interesting smells and flavours which make processed foods more appealing to majority of the population. Food additives are chemicals (such as esters, aromatic hydrocarbons and hydrogenated oils) used in food products in order to increase their shelf life and to enhance their colour, flavour or texture. Only a small percentage of the population are sensitive to certain additives, however, common disorders do include that of digestive, nervous, respiratory and skin problems due to the certain chemicals within products. Generally sufficient

Many of the food additives used are simply synthesised chemicals that occur naturally in food that gets consumed by people every day. As a clear example, MSG is a naturally occurring compound found within sardines, tomatoes and parmesan cheese. People may view additives as a threat, however these fall at the bottom of the list of things to worry about where health issues are concerned. The more major concerns involve food borne microorganisms (salmonella), poor hygiene and food contamination.

However, according to the Food Additive Association of Australia, even though additives may not reveal problems on a short term basis, 12.5% of Australians have had adverse reactions to approved additives. Additives give food a marketable quality, which generally leads them to causing allergic reactions in some people. Some of these reactions include problematic digestive disorders such as diarrhoea, nervous disorders such as insomnia, respiratory problems such as sinusitis and asthma and skin irritations such as itching, swelling and rashes. The food most commonly responsible for these attributes